It might be a fair statement that Buddhism and Zen were born in the mountains of the earth. Case Six of the Mumonkan
Bodhidharma the 28th patriarch of Buddhism (28th direct descendant of the historical Buddha) and the first patriarch of Chinese Chan (Zen) Buddhism taught at the Shaolin Temple on the Song Mountain in Henan. As Buddhism spread into China the Buddhist monks like the Taoist hermits before them favored quiet mountains for their meditative practices. Small hermitages and later great monastic complexes sprung up upon many peaks and mountains across China. Eventually many of these mountains were said to be sacred and the homes of a Bodhisattva. These Bodhisattva were seen as spiritual beings that have dedicated themselves to the service of assisting all sentient creatures in the transcendence of worldly suffering and the attainment of enlightenment and are said to dwell in the mountain.
Long before Buddhism arrived in Japan Mountains were considered sacred places. Mountains were strange remote and seldom walked.
“Shintoism, the indigenous, religion of Japan. Shintoism viewed each and every natural object - trees, rocks, springs, caves, lakes, and mountains - as the abode of spirits called kami. These kami spirits were believed to exercise a powerful influence on human affairs, while human beings, through the agency of prayer and ritual, were likewise able to influence the kami spirits. The kami spirits were especially concentrated in mountain areas.”
“Concurrent with and contributing to this development of regional sacred space was the emergence of a religious movement of mountain ascetics known as Shugendo. A blend of pre-Buddhist folk traditions of Sangaku shinko and Shinto, Tantric Buddhism, and Chinese Yin-yang magic and Taoism, Shugendo may be roughly defined as the 'way of mastering magico-ascetic powers by retreat to and practice within the sacred mountains'. Shugendo practitioners were called Yamabushi, a term which meant 'one who lies down or sleeps in the mountains' and the sect included various types of ascetics such as unofficial monks, wandering holy men, pilgrimage guides, blind musicians, exorcists, hermits and healers.” *
* Extracts from the Sacred sites news letter.
In the sixth century CE Chinese culture and religious ideas were beginning to migrate into the Japanese culture of the time. These new ideas and religious beliefs melded with the old Japanese religion and the nature of the religious use of the sacred mountains began to change. The sacred mountains of Japan began to be used for Buddhist hermitages’ and small temples by wandering Buddhist monks and scholars. Eventually they became pilgrimage destinations for members of the Imperial family and the ruling aristocracy.
This change in the use of the sacred mountains from a sacred place to a home for these monks lead to what became to be known as mountain training or "jogyo" the “pure practice” to put it simply meditation practice “zen-gyo”. The Buddhist monks who trained in these mountain retreats were called “meditation masters” or "Zenji". Please note the mediation system used at this time was primarily visualizations of Amida Buddha and was not the system introduced later by Dogen called “silent enlightenment”.
Thus the title Zenji was introduced in Japan. To obtain this training was much sought after as it was said to inspire great spiritual power and so called “natural wisdom”. It was believed that it was this great spiritual power that infused the Buddhist rituals with their efficacy. It was the power of the Monk that gave the rituals their power and assured that they would accomplish their purpose.
As can be expected with all things human as soon as it was generally accepted that meditating in the sacred mountains imbued the practitioner with mystical powers the state seized control of all access to the mountains and regulated who could train there. The aristocracy and the state forbad the wandering ascetics access to the mountains on pain of death and made sure all those who trained there were under their control and working for them. of course this proved almost impossible to do. By 770 CE the Japanese government gave up trying to control mountain based mediation centers and practice. But they still acknowledged the power of the Zenji and even named ten official "Zenji " known for their great spiritual power and gave them a government stipend to assure their good will.
Most schools of Japanese Buddhism eventually ended up with temples in the mountains. Dogen founded Eihei-ji in 1246 in the hills of rural Japan.
“Although mountains belong to the nation, mountains belong to people who love them. When mountains love their master, such virtuous sage or wise person enters the mountains. Since mountains belong to the sages and wise persons living there, trees and rocks become abundant and birds and animals are inspired. This is so because the sages and the wise people extend their virtue.” Dogen Zenji - "Mountains and Waters Sutra"
Those who claim to know say that Dogen used the term mountain to refer to a person who is sitting in meditation or they say he was actually talking about ‘mountains’ and ‘water’ as terms used by previous Masters. Then again they say that he called the ancient Chinese Buddhist masters mountains that were forever green and flowing as their teachings were ...
Well you get the picture.
I give you Dogen Zenji -- the only Zenji I know, a mountian still walking.
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