Dōkyō Etan
Dōkyō Etan (Shoju Rojin, "The Old Man of Shōju Hermitage") (1642–1721) was a Japanese Rinzai Zen monk, and the principal teacher of Hakuin Ekaku (1686-1769).
Also recorded as Shōju
Dōkyō Etan
- Born
- 1642 · Iiyama Castle.
- Died
- 1721 · Syouju-an Temple.
- Nationality
- Tokugawa shogunate
- Occupation
- poet
- Teachers
- Shidō Munan
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wikidata · Q11641854 · wikipedia · Dōkyō Etan
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Biography
Biography
Shoju Rojin received inka, the seal of approval, from Shidō Bu'nan (Munan) (1603–1676) after studying only one year with him, but declined to succeed him as his formal dharm-successor. He stayed the rest of his life at a small hermitage, Shoju-an. He was critical of the state of practice of the Rinzai-temples of his time. According to his student Hakuin, who stayed with him for eight months, he emphasized the need for rigorous practice, instead of developing artistic skills or practicing the nembutsu, the repetition of the mantra of the Pure Land school, a practice common in Chinese chan and the Ōbaku-school.
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Iiyama Castle.
Birth place
Syouju-an Temple.
Death place
Influence
While Hakuin stayed with Shoju Rojin for only eight months, and didn't receive dharma-transmission or inka, in later life Hakuin regarded him as his principal teacher. Shoju Rojin's critical stance was emulated by Hakuin, who also avoided the Rinzai-establishment, and resorted to a small temple, where he eventually attracted a large number of students. While Hakuin's descendants formalised the koan-study into a system with set answers, Hakuin, and with him his teacher's attitude, is regarded as the reviver of Rinza-Zen, stressing the importance of prolonged practice through koan-study and regular meditation.
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The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Dōkyō Etan, revision 1336526926 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 29 August 2026.
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