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Rshi - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Rshi (?) (Japanese: "old teacher"; "old master"; Chinese pinyin: Losh) is an honorific title used for a highly venerated senior teacher in Zen Buddhism.
Contents [hide] 1 Etymology 2 Usage 2.1 Rinzai 2.2 St 2.3 Western Zen 3 Criticism 4 See also 5 References 6 Web references 7 Sources 8 External links

Etymology

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The Japanese rshi is a translation of the more antiquated Chinese Laozi (Wade-Giles; Lao Tzu) meaning 'Old Master' and connoting the archetype of a wise old man. The modern Chinese (Chinese pinyin: Losh) is a common word for teacher or professor without the religious or spiritual connotation of rshi. Chinese Chn Buddhism uses the semantically related title sifu (, literally "master father" or "father of masters", or , literally "master teacher" or "teacher of masters"; both pronounced "shfu") as an honorific title for the highest masters, but it also may be used in respectful address of monks and nuns generally.

Usage

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See also: Zen rank s and hierarchy Traditionally, the term rshi has been applied as a respectful honorific to a significantly older Zen teacher considered to have matured in wisdom and to have attained a superior understanding and expression of the Dharma (Japanese: mujd no taigen) . Typically, arshi will have received dharma transmission (Jap: ink a shmei) many years ago and although often the abbot or spiritual director of a monastery may in fact be too old to carry these responsibilities.[citation needed] Despite this historical reality, it has come in some modern Zen schools to be applied as an general title for a teacher regardless of the age of the individual who receives it. This is especially true in the United States and Europe where it appears that some confusion has arisen where the word rshi has been conflated with the term osh, which is the generic term for a Soto Buddhist teacher who has received shiho and completed his basic training. Historically, the term rshi will only be applied to an osh after they have given many years of service as a teacher. .

Rinzai

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In some Rinzai organizations, a monastic is sometimes called rshi after they have receivedink a shmei, meaning they have completed k an study and received Dharma transmissionfrom their master; In Rinzai Zen, it is relatively easy to say who is a roshi and who is not. Anyone who is authorized by another roshi (i.e. his teacher) is a roshi. This authorization (officially the "inka-shmei" document) is documented on a piece of paper, that is why it is also called colloquially "ichi-mai", that is "one sheet (of paper)". The transmission is totally vertical from teacher to student, no peer control is involved. That means that the Rinzai sect has no means to control who is made a roshi and who is not. In spite of
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Rshi - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

that, the number of Rinzai roshis is relatively low, maybe around 50 or so.[w eb 1] According to roshi Sokun Tsushimoto, the title of roshi is equivalent to Zen master andshik e:[1] 'Roshi' is the title compatible with the most formal title Shike who got officially authorized as a Dharma successor by authentic master.[1][2]

St

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In the St organization, a person is sometimes called rshi after they have received the title of shik e, but this is by no means standard practice: There are about 50 or so of these in Soto (the Rinzai roshis can also be addressed as "shike") [...] [T]here is a kind of committee, called the "shike-kai", consisting of all Japanese Soto shike. There is no foreign shike, as far as I know. The shike-kai can appoint anyone as a shike whom they consider their equal, i.e. who has done genuine training and study, cultivated himself and reached whatever understanding that might be considered enlightened enough to match the enlightenment of the other shike. So shike appointment can be called horizontal in a way.[w eb 1]

Western Zen

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Many Zen communities in the United States confer the honorific title of rshi to their teachers as a regular title, in deference to perceived Japanese Zen tradition. In most western instances it is used synonymously with the term Zen master, which has a quite specific meaning in Japan, namely the select group of persons who are qualified to supervise the headtemples and monk training halls.[w eb 1][3] In the west, Rinzai and Soto-uses of the term have been mixed: Rinzai Zen came first to the West, so a roshi was understood as someone who was a Zen master with certain credentials. With the introduction of Soto, the emphasis on personal relationship was grafted on, making a complex term that merged the official and legal with the personal and affectionate. To complicate matters further, the Diamond Sangha, the Los Angeles Zen Center and the Rochester Zen Center lineages have combined elements of both modern-day Soto and Rinzai Zen. Its no wonder there is ambiguity and diversity in the usage of roshi in the West.[4] In the Sanbo Kyodan, a lay organization that combines Soto and Rinzai elements, a person is called rshi when they have received ink a, indicating they have passed the k ancurriculum and received Dharma transmission.

Criticism

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The use of the term roshi in the U.S. and Europe has at times led to confusion and controversy.[5][6][7][8][w eb 2] Stuart Lachs has argued that Zen institutions in the West have often attributed a mythic status to the title rshi with harmful consequences.[w eb 3]

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