Anna Ruggeri Takeshita    Department   Kyoto University of Foreign Studies  Department of Italian Studies, Faculty of Foreign Studies    Position   Professor
Date	2020/08/25
Presentation Theme	The Practice of Body and Mind in Japanese Zen Buddhism: the Experience of Shaku Sōen
Conference Type	Workshop/Symposium
Presentation Type	Panelist at Symposium/Workshop (Appointed)
Contribution Type	Individual
Publisher and common publisher	Anna RUGGERI TAKESHITA
Details	In Zen Buddhism the practice itself has a central role in the attainment of religious experience which is nothing other than the experience of reality. Zen practice takes advantage of some techniques such as zazen, kōan, but also the main aspects themselves of everyday life. However, the central focus of Zen is not the practice itself, but the self-realization of “who” is practicing. This self-inquiry allows the practitioner to experience the self as a unity of body and mind (shinjin). This presentation will attempt to explain these concepts using the living example of the Japanese Zen master of Rinzai school Shaku Sōen who lived during the Meiji Period and for the first time in history at the very first Parliament of the World’s Religions (Chicago, 1893) explained the essence of Buddhism and with it Zen.