Although Zen cannot be said to be the last of the new Kamakura Buddhist movements it did, however, offer significant values to Japan’s changing society.Eisai believed that Zen would revive the strict discipline of Buddhist teachings and etiquette (Bary, Keene& Tanabe, 2001, p. 307).It offered the nobles and warriors, who sponsored it, “stern discipline, literacy and learning, access to the culture of the Chinese ruling elite, and the possibility of social recognition as well as spiritual enlightenment” (Collcutt, 1982, p.191). Zen offered its followers a path of acceptance and development of their lives through its Chinese background which was seen as a great challenge, particularly for the warrior class. Zen’s appeal to the elitists came from its access to Chinese teachings and the culture of the Chinese ruling elite, rather than the spiritual access.
In order to survive the new forms of Buddhism in the Kamakura period at this time, Zen integrated itself into a Buddhist establishment called Gozan, a network of Zen temples. The Gozan provided crucial income to the royal families and military rulers, as well as, sponsoring foreign trade from China, managing military estates and promoting the latest styles of Chinese culture (Bary et al., 2001, p.309). This promotion generated a new cultural surge from China after so many centuries of neglect, as the Japanese believed that China no longer had anything important to offer. This surge brought a renewed interest for everything Chinese and opened the door to Chinese philosophy and scripture. The Gozan also became the centre of learning for the studies of “of Neo-Confucian metaphysics, Chinese poetry, painting, calligraphy, and material arts such as printing, architecture, garden design, and ceramics” (Bary et al., 2001, pp.309-10). This illustrated how important the school of Zen was to Japan and how it influenced its society.
The establishment of the school of Zen and its temples were largely influenced by Chinese architecture and construction which in turn influenced Japanese architecture and construction. The buildings of the Zen temples were based on the foundation of Chinese architecture dating from the T’ang period (Dumoulin, & Knitter, 2005, p.225). Other than architecture, Japanese garden art, design and landscape have also been predominantly influenced by China, the birthplace of Zen. Under the influence of Zen garden art took on a development towards a new spiritualised love of nature. Also the way in which garden landscapes were designed represented a variety of Chinese values and beliefs such as the ‘Yin and Yang’ and the ‘human form’ (Dumoulin et al., 2005, p.228). Even painting, which was seen as the highest form of Zen art, found its home in the Zen temples where by painter-monks and their followers found their enlightenment through their work. Japanese Zen painters carrier on Chinese Zen themes and illustrated them through their various artworks. These aspects of art which were influenced by the teachings of the school of Zen changed the outlook and outcomes of art in Japanese society.
This paper outlines the appeal and influence that the teaching of Zen Buddhism had on the society of medieval Japan. The school of Zen Buddhism derived from the religious reforms which were established during the early Kamakura period. This new sect of Buddhism was one of several which overrode the previous elitist religions of Japan. Zen brought new values and challenged to the people of Japan, catching the particular attention of the warrior class who identified with the Zen teachings and were able to integrate them into their teachings of the samurai. Essentially the new religion of Zen Buddhism offered the people of Japan a more direct path of enlightenment which found its home in the early Kamakura period of Japan.
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