Tag Archives: Umpō

Bankei—Noble Prince of the Unborn

No series would be comprehensive here without a study of Bankei Yōtaku (1622-93). Bankei’s Zen was eloquent in its simplicity. He was forever the quintessential iconoclast, riding against all the excessive material formalism that infested the zen of his time, against all that impinged upon the direct clarity of the Unborn. His elementary cry was to, “Get Unborn!” In effect, to ditch all unnecessary baggage that obscured the deathless, imageless and boundless face of the Unborn Buddha Mind, our Authentic and Original Nature. The following is a general outline of his spiritual path: read more

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