Digital Dictionary of Buddhism

DDB Top Page 
 
 
  XML source

伽藍法

Pronunciations

Basic Meaning: temple Dharma transmission

Senses:

  • The practice of inheriting a templeʼs lineage, regardless of any other transmission, one might have previously received from their master. In this institutional form of transmission, a monk inherits the Dharma lineage of the founder of his temple of residence. Thus, for any given temple, the Dharma lineage of its abbots would always be the same. However, the individual abbot must change his Dharma lineage every time he is appointed to a new temple of a different lineage faction. This system did not exist in China, where Chan temples were public temples 十方禪刹. However, by the Edo period (1603–1868), most Japanese Zen temples required their abbots to follow this system. Through this system, monasteries were able to secure financial and spiritual support from a network of temples belonging to that lineage. Within the Sōtō school 曹洞宗, this system was also known as in'in ekishi 因院易師, which literally means depending upon the temple 院 that a monk presided over, he would change 易 his master 師. This system remained standard practice within the Sōtō school until 1703 when a faction of monks led by Manzan Dōhaku 卍山道白 and Baihō Jikushin 梅峰竺信 succeeded in getting the Tokugawa shogunate to prohibit it. See: William M. Bodiford. “Dharma Transmission in Sōtō Zen: Manzan Dōhakuʼs Reform Movement”. Monumenta Nipponica (Winter, 1991, p. 424). [Erez Joskovich; source(s): Yokoi, FGD]
  • Search SAT
  • Search INBUDS Database

    • Feedback

    [Dictionary References]

    Zengaku daijiten (Komazawa U.) 172a

    Japanese-English Zen Buddhist Dictionary (Yokoi) 145

    Fo Guang Dictionary 2770

    Copyright provisions

    The rights to textual segments (nodes) of the DDB are owned by the author indicated in the brackets next to each segment. For rights regarding the compilation as a whole, please contact Charles Muller. Please do not reproduce without permission. And please do not copy into Wikipedia without proper citation!

    Entry created: 2010-08-27

    Updated: 2020-09-29