KOGAKU SOEN (1859–1917) Kogaku Soen was a prolific Zen artist who specialized in paintings of Daruma. He was ordained a monk in 1871 at the age of twelve. In 1884, at age twenty-five, he received Dharma transmission from his teacher, Kosen Soun (1816–1892).
Kogaku Soen was devoted to Zen Buddhism, but was also intensely interested in other forms of practice and studied in a Tendai temple for six months. Just when he was expected to settle down to a career in a Zen temple, he decided to go to Ceylon instead. This was a highly unusual thing for a Zen monk to do. However, at that time, Ceylon was thought to be the place in the world where the purest Buddhism was practiced—where the teachings were the closest to the original teachings of Buddha.
In 1893, Kogaku Soen became the first Zen monk to come to America when he traveled to Chicago to attend the World Parliament of Religions. D.T. Suzuki, a lay disciple of Kogaku Soen, accompanied him as his translator. When Kogaku Soen returned to Japan, he became the only Zen master in Japan interested in training Westerners.
In 1904, a San Francisco couple, the Russells, visited Kogaku Soen at his temple, Enkaku-ji, in Kamakura. By this time, Kogaku Soen had three Americans in his training hall and felt that he had learned how to work with Westerners. So in June of 1905, when the Russell’s invited him to come to California to teach Zen, he accepted. Mrs. Russell became his direct student, and the first American to begin koan study.
His visits to America led Kogaku Soen to believe that it was a natural place for the dharma to grow and evolve.
PLEASE NOTE: ALL OF THE PAINTINGS BELOW HAVE BEEN SOLD
AND ARE FOR DISPLAY PURPOSES ONLY
"Enso"
by Kogaku Soen
"Giant Daruma"
by Kogaku Soen
