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Mushi-dokugo - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mushi-dokugo (?), sometimes calledjigo-jish (?, self-enlightened and self-certified), is a Japanese term used in Zen Buddhism which expresses the phenomenon known as "awakening alone, without a master."[1][note 1][2]
Contents [hide] 1 Etymology 2 Examples of mushi-dokugo 3 Statements on mushi-dokugo 4 See also 5 Notes 6 References 7 Web references 8 Sources 9 External links

Etymology

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Mushi-dok ugo () is a Japanese term composed of four Chinese characters, or kanji, meaning "independent realization without a master." The charactermu () means "without" or "no", shi () means "master" or "teacher", dok u () means "independent" or "alone", and go () means "realization" or "understanding" (satoru), also translated as "enlightenment" (satori).[note 2]When strung together, the characters literally read, "no () master () independent () understanding ()." The equivalent Chinese pronunciation is wsh dw.

Examples of mushi-dokugo

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Nnin (died 1196) is an example of mushi-dokugo[1]: Nonin initially studied Tendai Buddhism, but he apparently became dissatisfied with it, even abandoning the traditional teacher-disciple relationship by declaring himself to be a self-enlightened Zen rshi.[3] During the Edo period in Japan, there were a great many priests who proclaimed to be "self-enlightened." These included... such notables as the Myshin-ji masters Daigu, Ungo, Isshi and the Stpriest Suzuki Shsan.[4] The famous Korean master Jinul could also be seen as an example.

Statements on mushi-dokugo
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usually considered suspect since the risk of self-delusion or 'fake-Zen' is always high.[5] According to William M. Bodiford, To guarantee that his experience of the truth of Buddhism is genuine, the Zen disciple relies upon his teacher to authenticate and formally acknowledge his enlightenment.[5] Dgen, the founder of the St school of Japan, acknowledged in his lifetime that such a phenomenon exists. According to Hee-Jin Kim, [...] enlightenment-by-oneself, without a teacher" (mushi-dok ugo), [is] the ultimate Zen principle that every practitioner had to actualize, even while studying under competent teachers and reading the
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9/25/13

Mushi-dokugo - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

sutras for a number of years. Dgen provided this well known dictum with a specific methodological/hermeneutic key that allowed one to unlock the mystery of existencethat is, to open the self and the universe. That key amounted, in essence, to critical, reflective thinking as an integral part of meditation. Without this key, it was impossible to attain one's own salvific independence [...] Meditation and wisdom alike had to be subjected to critical scrutiny and reassessed in the changing situation[6] Critical, reflective thinking as an integral part of meditation is mentioned in the fascicles of the Shbgenz.[6] Anyone practising alone or together, without dharma transmission, may be regarded a dharma practitioner: So although shiho alone is not much, no shiho at all qualifies you for nothing but being a dharma practioner in your own right, a follower of the buddha way who may practice on his own or along with others. You may even teach the dharma, but you should not pose as an authorized representative of a lineage or school. Believe it or not, that happens all the time. If you teach without shiho, you should make clear that you are not part of one of the existing schools, but the founder of your own school (which is OK of course, as long as you state so).[w eb 1]

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