Abstract
The 1240s saw the spread of Zen in Kyoto and Kamakura. What thought constituted this "Zen"? Until now, Rinzai priests of the Kamakura period have been categorized by historians into two separate groups: 1) Zen practice mixed with the exoteric and esoteric teachings, and other essential teachings based on the sutras (Kenshu-Zen), and 2) Zen introduced from China in the Sung dynasty unmixed with the above-mentioned teachings, called "pure Zen practice" (Junsui-Zen). The two most notable Zen priests of the mid-Kamakura period, Enni Ben'en (who studied various Buddhist teachings and Zen in Japan and China), and Rankei Doryu (the Chinese Zen priest who taught in Kamakura), have been categorized under these two headings. Their ways of thinking have yet to be fully understood. This essay will present two facts. One is that Rinzai priest-relations crossed both Kenshu-Zen and Junsui-Zen, or Japanese and Chinese priesthood. The other is that the common thought of Enni and Rankei encompassed the exoteric and esoteric, as well as other essential teachings based on the sutras. Therefore attention must be given to Sung dynasty Rinzai-the origin of this new Zen way of thinking.
