Buddhist priest behind globalization of Zen dies at 83

[Jun]

Seiko Hirata, the head priest of Tenryuji Temple in Kyoto, who dedicated himself to the internationalization of Zen, died from multiple organ failure on Wednesday. He was 83.

Hirata, who was known as a leading theorist in the Zen sect, died at around 5:39 p.m. Wednesday.

A private funeral for Hirata will be held at Tenryuji Temple in Kyoto's Ukyo-ku at 1 p.m. Saturday.

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/national/news/20 ... 6000c.html

[Rev R]

wow, I'm starting to wonder if the "rule of three's" applies to Zen as well.

Did anyone here know him?

[Jun]

I met him a few years back.

[Jundo]

He was the abbot of Tenryu-ji, a Rinzai temple in Kyoto and a branch of Rinzai-shu. I believe that he has advised several foreign scholars over the years in their translations and such.

The Buddhist view is not that dying comes "in threes". It is that it comes and does not come. ;-)

Gassho, J