Interesting, and I'll bookmark this thread with the quotes and links for future reference, but the event or incident I'm looking for is given in the excerpt quoted below. After years googling every aspect of the circumstances and other details that I could recall, and then posting this thread, the details I managed to find are from a rather unlikely source: the August 1976 edition of the American martial-arts magazine Black Belt. The quote below is from an article in that magazine entitled "Zen and the Samurai: Why Zen became associated with a warrior class" by one Dr George R. Parulski, Jr. The actors in this verbal exchange were Hojo Tokimune, eighth shikken (regent) of the Kamakura shogunate, and Bukko, a Zen master.
Hojo Tokimune (1251-84) was his [Tokuso Tokiyori, 1227-63, fifth shikken of the Kamakura shogunate] only son, and when his father's kingdom fell to him in 1268, he was 18 years of age. Tokimune is perhaps Japan's greatest personage. Without Tokimune, Japan might not be what it is today. It was he that crushed the Mongolian invasion which lasted several years. It seems that Tokimune was almost a heaven-sent agent to stave off the direst calamity that might befall the nation.
For our purposes, the most wonderful thing about this almost superhuman figure is that he had the time, energy, and aspiration to devote himself to the study of Zen under the masters from China. He erected temples, including the important Enkaku-ji. Some letters still preserved, which were sent to him by his masters, reveal how seriously he took to Zen. In one letter, Tokimune is said to have asked Zen master Bukko, "The worst enemy in our life is cowardice, how can I escape it?"
Bukko answered, "Cut off the source from whence cowardice comes."
Tokimune: "Where does it come from?"
Bukko: "It comes from Tokimune himself."
Tokimune: "Above all things, cowardice is what I hate most, how can I come out of myself?"
Bukko: "See how you feel when you throw overboard your cherished self. I will see you again when you have done this."
Tokimune: "How can this be done?"
Bukko: "Sit cross-legged in meditation and see into the source of all your thoughts which you imagine as belonging to Tokimune."
It was with this courage that Tokimune faced the Mongolian invasion and successfully drove it back. Historically speaking, he didn't accomplish this greatest feat in the history of Japan by courage alone. Tokimune planned every detail that was needed for the task and his ideas were carried out by a now Zen-oriented warrior class.
When Tokimune died, Bukko gave a glorious eulogy: "There were ten wonders in his life, which was the actualization of his vows: he was a filial son to his mother; he was a loyal subject to his emperor; he looked to the welfare of his people; studying Zen, he grasped the Truth; he betrayed no signs of joy or anger; sweeping away by virtue of a gale the threatening clouds raised by the barbarians, he showed no signs of elation; he established Enkaku-ji; following his teachers, he sought the virtue of enlightenment. And in his near-death he managed to rise from his bed, put on his Buddhist robe and write his death song in full possession of his spirit. Such a one as he must be said to be an enlightened being."
Tokimune was a great Zen spirit and it was due to his encouragement that Zen came to be firmly established in Kamakura and then in Kyoto and began to spread its moral and spiritual influence among the samurai class.
For our purposes, the most wonderful thing about this almost superhuman figure is that he had the time, energy, and aspiration to devote himself to the study of Zen under the masters from China. He erected temples, including the important Enkaku-ji. Some letters still preserved, which were sent to him by his masters, reveal how seriously he took to Zen. In one letter, Tokimune is said to have asked Zen master Bukko, "The worst enemy in our life is cowardice, how can I escape it?"
Bukko answered, "Cut off the source from whence cowardice comes."
Tokimune: "Where does it come from?"
Bukko: "It comes from Tokimune himself."
Tokimune: "Above all things, cowardice is what I hate most, how can I come out of myself?"
Bukko: "See how you feel when you throw overboard your cherished self. I will see you again when you have done this."
Tokimune: "How can this be done?"
Bukko: "Sit cross-legged in meditation and see into the source of all your thoughts which you imagine as belonging to Tokimune."
It was with this courage that Tokimune faced the Mongolian invasion and successfully drove it back. Historically speaking, he didn't accomplish this greatest feat in the history of Japan by courage alone. Tokimune planned every detail that was needed for the task and his ideas were carried out by a now Zen-oriented warrior class.
When Tokimune died, Bukko gave a glorious eulogy: "There were ten wonders in his life, which was the actualization of his vows: he was a filial son to his mother; he was a loyal subject to his emperor; he looked to the welfare of his people; studying Zen, he grasped the Truth; he betrayed no signs of joy or anger; sweeping away by virtue of a gale the threatening clouds raised by the barbarians, he showed no signs of elation; he established Enkaku-ji; following his teachers, he sought the virtue of enlightenment. And in his near-death he managed to rise from his bed, put on his Buddhist robe and write his death song in full possession of his spirit. Such a one as he must be said to be an enlightened being."
Tokimune was a great Zen spirit and it was due to his encouragement that Zen came to be firmly established in Kamakura and then in Kyoto and began to spread its moral and spiritual influence among the samurai class.
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