Zen ranks and hierarchy

Zen institutions have an elaborate system of ranks and hierarchy, which determine one's position in the institution.

Soto

From it's beginnings, Soto Zen has laid a strong emphasis on the right lineage and dharma transmission. In time, dharma transmission became synonym with the transmission of temple ownership.

In Soto Zen, the term roshi "merely denotes an administrative rank".

Rinzai

Ordination

Ordination into the Rinza-school takes place through the jukai.

Priets and monks

At Myōshin-ji, two kinds of ranking systems are being used to rank sōryo ("a member of the educated clergy, a priest, as opposed to a monk" The hokay (dharma rank) system is used to denote ranks in the Buddhist clerical career hierarchy. It has fourteen ranks and titles, starting with the shami rank. The Tokyū-class system is a teacher-grade system:

• Teacher assistent (three ranks)
• Seventh to first-class teacher (seven ranks)
  • Tōdōshoku (fourth grade)
  • Junjūshoku (third grade)
  • Jūjishoku (second grade)
  • Zenjūshoku (first grade)
• Great teacher (dai kyōshi) (three ranks)

Up to the second grade, progressing takes place through taking exams, or through mushiken kentei, authorization without examination. Age, seniority, practice and educational level play a part in this authorization.

To become a Jūjishoku (second grade teacher), there are four possibilities:

1. Graduation form the buddhist studies department of Hanazono University and having spent two years in the sōdō
2. Holding a PhD from any university, and having spent two years in the sōdō
3. Graduated from high school and having spent seven years in the sōdō
4. Graduated from junior high school and having spent ten years in the sōdō

Great Teachers can become abbot or University president. A 'part-time' career program is offered by the ''ange-o-system, aimed at persons wishing to become fulltime or parttime temple-priest, who don't have the opportunity to spend the required years in the sōdō.

Besides the official ranking, several honorific titles sre being used. Oshō ("virtuous monk") is being used for an educated teacher above zendōshoku rank ("which most persons acquire by having spent a time in the monastery"). Above Jūjishoku rank the term daizenji ("great master") is attached to this title. Rōshi is used for a teacher of dai kyōshi grade, but also for older teachers. In the west the title rōshi has acquired the menaing of "enlightened Zen master".

Kwan Um

The Kwan Um School of Zen (관음선종회) (KUSZ) is an international school of Zen centers and groups, founded in 1983 by Seung Sahn Soen Sa Nim.

There are four kinds of teachers in the Kwan Um tradition, all having attained a varying degree of mastery and understanding.

1. A Dharma teacher is an individual that has taken the Five precepts and Ten precepts, completed a minimum of four years of training and a minimum of eight weekend retreats, understood basic Zen teaching and has been confirmed by a Soen Sa Nim (Zen master) to receive the title. These individuals can give a Dharma talk but may not respond to audience questions.
2. A senior Dharma teacher is a Dharma teacher who, after a minimum of five years, has been confirmed by a Soen Sa Nim and has taken the Sixteen precepts. These individuals are given greater responsibility than a Dharma teacher, are able to respond to questions during talks, and give consulting interviews.
3. A Ji Do Poep Sa Nim (JDPSN) (Dharma master) is an authorized individual that has completed kong-an training (having received inka), and is capable of leading a retreat. The nominee must demonstrate an aptitude for the task of teaching, showing the breadth of their understanding in their daily conduct, and undergo a period of teacher training.
4. A Soen Sa Nim (Zen master) is a JDPSN that has received full Dharma transmission master to master.

An Abbot serves a Zen center in an administrative capacity, and does not necessarily provide spiritual direction, though several are Soen Sa Nims. These individuals take care of budgets and other such tasks.

Criticism

The hierarchical system of Zen has attracted severe criticism in the west, because of the misconception of the role and degree of awakening of Zen teachers. The term rōshi has been applied to implicate a certified state of awakening, implying impeccable moral behaviour. Actual practice shows that this has not always been the case.

See also

• Dharma transmission
• Zen master

Sources

• Borup, Jørn (2008), Japanese Rinzai Zen Buddhism: Myōshinji, a Living Religion, Brill
• Dumoulin, Heinrich (2005-A), Zen Buddhism: A History. Volume 1: India and China, World Wisdom Books, ISBN 9780941532891 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)CS1 maint: year (link)
• Dumoulin, Heinrich (2005-B), Zen Buddhism: A History. Volume 2: Japan, World Wisdom Books, ISBN 9780941532907 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)CS1 maint: year (link)
• Faure, Bernard (1999), "The Daruma-shū, Dōgen, and Sōtō Zen", Monumenta Nipponica, Vol. 42, No. 1. (Spring, 1987), pp. 25-55
• Ford, James Ishmael (2006). Zen Master Who?. Wisdom Publications. ISBN 0-86171-509-8.
• Lachs, Stuart (1999), Means of Authorization: Establishing Hierarchy in Ch'an /Zen Buddhism in America
• Lachs, Stuart (Year unknown), Reply to Vladimir K. {{citation}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)CS1 maint: year (link)
• Lachs, Stuart (2006), The Zen Master in America: Dressing the Donkey with Bells and Scarves
• McRae, John (2003), Seeing Through Zen. Encounter, Transformation, and Genealogy in Chinese Chan Buddhism, The University Press Group Ltd, ISBN 9780520237988
• Tetsuo, Otani (2003), To Transmit Dogen Zenji's Dharma (PDF)

• Vladimir K. (2003), Tending the Bodhi Tree: A Critique of Stuart Lachs' Means of Authorization: Establishing Hierarchy in Cha'n/Zen Buddhism in America

Further reading

• Hori, Victor Sogen (1994), Teaching and Learning in the Zen Rinzai Monastery. In: Journal of Japanese Studies, Vol.20, No. 1, (Winter, 1994), 5-35 (PDF)

External links

History of Zen

• thezensite

Training

• Sensei Training Program (Pure Land)

Criticism

• Waking up to Soto Zen Hierarchy
• Fundamentally No Hierarchy?
• Sex, sake and Zen