Question

World religion

2. How do Rinzai and Soto differ?

Could you imagine yourself staying at a Zen monastery sometime? Explain.

Answer 1

• 2.Soto is the leading school of Zen Buddhism. It was initially founded in China as the Caodong lineage of the Chan school of Buddhism and was later imported to Japan in the thirteenth century by Dogen Zenji, after which it was called Soto Zen.
• It tended to be more popular among peasants in medieval Japan because of its relatively simple and straight forward practice chanting and meditating do not require you to be literate, and a somewhat more egalitarian culture, to the extent Zen can ever be seen as egalitarian.
• In the Soto school of Zen, Zazen, or sitting meditation, is the core of the practice. After all, Zazen was the vehicle of Buddha's Awakening. Shikantaza or "just sitting" is the essence of Soto Zen. There is no goal to be attained beyond the practice itself.
• Soto is the passive hand of Zen, Rinzia the active hand. Soto says you are already already Buddha, so just sit and let your nature come forth. Do nothing, know nothing, make absolutely no effort.
• Soto Zen practitioners do not actively seek Enlightenment or Satori (the Zen Buddhism term for enlightenment), but rather they seek to fully experience every moment; that is, to be acutely aware of every action in the here and now.
• Rinzai comes from the Linji school of Chan in China. It doesn't have as strong a sense of having a founder as Soto does.Rinzai is focused more on achieving a kensho experience, sudden enlightenment, and then building off of that, so it uses a mix of koan practice and meditation.
• Unlike the Rinzai koans that are very formal, Soto koans are more dynamic and sometimes represents the master's spontaneous answers to a question, instead of being a predetermined question or riddle.
• Soto Zen's vision of Enlightenment, or Satori, is different than that of the Rinzai school. As opposed to what many people may think, in Soto Zen, Satori is not a special state of consciousness. It is simply a return to a human being's original condition. It can be compared to the consciousness of a newborn baby that has not been "contaminated" in any way; that is, a consciousness that is pure and in full harmony with the cosmos and the universe.
• Due to time limit,the remaining questions can be asked as another question,they will be answered,thankyou for your cooperation