Hakuin's Precious Mirror Cave by Norman Waddell

Author:Norman Waddell [Waddell, Norman]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: General Fiction
Publisher: Counterpoint
Published: 2018-04-23T21:00:00+00:00

A CHRONOLOGICAL BIOGRAPHY OF ZEN MASTER HAKUIN

PART 1: PRACTICE LEADING TO ENLIGHTENMENT

Second Year of Jōkyō (1685) Reign of Emperor Reigen

In this year, on the night of the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth month, the master was born at Ukishima-ga-Hara, Suntō gun, in the province of Suruga. His father’s surname was originally Sugiyama. The Sugiyamas were descendents of the Suzuki clan, a line of samurai that had an outstanding reputation for bravery and valor.

(Suzuki Saburō Shigeie was a vassal of Minamoto Yoshitsune [1159–93]. When Shigeie learned that Yoshitsune had escaped the forces of his brother Yoritomo and made his way into the domain of Fujiwara Hidehira in Ōshū far in the north, he realized it would no longer be possible for him to join his master. He led seven warriors who were kinsmen of his to the village of Enashi in Izu province, where they settled and lived quiet lives concealed from the world. The Sugiyamas descended from this branch of the Suzuki clan. Tracing the family roots further back, we find that even at the time the great deities of Kumano returned from India by way of China, the men of the Suzuki clan were already known far and wide as the warriors of Kumano.)3

The master’s mother was a daughter of the Nagasawa family, who served as heads of the Hara poststation on the Tōkaidō. The Nagasawas had for generations devoted themselves to cultivating the seeds of Buddhahood through various religious activities. The master’s mother was a simple, good-natured woman who took pleasure in spontaneous acts of kindness and compassion.

One night his mother dreamed she saw a figure fly toward the house from the direction of southern Ise. It alighted on the roof, holding out on a silken cloth a divine amulet from the great shrine at Ise. The grave solemnity of its appearance made her tremble with awe. When she woke, she had conceived a child. Because of this the Ise Shrine always held a special place in her heart. On the night of the master’s birth the dream recurred, and when it was over she was filled with an overwhelming joy. She was thereupon delivered of a male child. The birth took place in the Hour of the Ox.

(The Nagasawas had five children, three boys and two girls. The master was their third [and youngest] son.4)

Jōkyō 4 (1687) Age 2

Emperor Higashiyama ascends the throne.

The master felt ashamed because he was unable to stand by himself. One day, after trying again and again, he finally succeeded. Seeing his beaming face, a man exclaimed, “He’s done it! Master Iwa can stand!” (Iwajirō was his childhood name.) Recalling the incident years later, the master related it to his fellow priests.

Jōkyō 5/Genroku 1 (1688) Age 3

The master had an excellent memory. He memorized a popular song of more than three hundred words that was sung in the village of Nakayama in the Sayo district. He sang it wherever he went, never forgetting or mistaking a single word. People remarked on his cleverness and quickness of mind.

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