Tettsu Gikai

Tettsū Gikai
School	Sōtō
Personal
Born	18 February 1219
Died	18 October 1309
Senior posting
Title	Zen Master
Predecessor	Koun Ejō
Successor	Keizan Jōkin
Religious career
Teacher	Koun Ejō Dōgen Ekan
Students	Keizan Jōkin

Tettsū Gikai (徹通義介^?) is the third spiritual leader of the Sōtō Zen school of Buddhism in Japan. He began his Buddhist life as a student of the Darumashū's Ekan, but later both became students of Eihei Dōgen's newly established Sōtō school. Gikai received dharma transmission from Koun Ejō, Dōgen's successor, and later became the third abbot of the school's head temple, Eihei-ji. Shortly thereafter, he became embroiled in a leadership crisis known as the sandai sōron. Other monks contended that other students, namely Jakuen, Gien or Giin, had stronger claims to the abbacy. The controversy remained unresolved at the time of his death. His abbacy was unpopular with some monks because he introduced innovative practices aimed at making Sōtō more palatable with the Japanese laity, which some claimed Dōgen would have frowned upon. However, he also had many followers, and eventually his innovations became the standard form of Sōtō Zen. His leadership marked the first geographical expansion of the Sōtō school when he moved with his followers to Kaga Province. Most notably, his disciple Keizan Jōkin became the second most famous figure in the school's history after Dōgen by generating mass appeal for Sōtō Zen and ultimately spreading the teachings to all corners of Japan.

Tettsū Gikai was born in 1219 in a rural area of Echizen Province called Inazu. His family was part of the powerful Fujiwara clan, specifically claiming descent from the famous General Fujiwara no Toshihito. Members of this extended family included prominent monks of the region. Others had formed bonds through marriage with the Hatano family, which was to become the primary donor to the early Sōtō school. He became a monk at the age of twelve at a Darumashū temple called Hajaku-ji, which was located close to the future site of Sōtō Zen's main temple, Eihei-ji. His teacher was Ekan, a student of Kakuan, in turn a student of the Darumashū's founder Nōnin. His close connections to Echizen, and particularly its Buddhist elite, played a role in his importance to the early Sōtō school.

...
Wikipedia