Yamada Koun | |
---|---|
Religion | Zen Buddhism |
School | Sanbo Kyodan |
Personal | |
Born | 1907 Nihonmatsu, Japan |
Died | 1989 Kamakura, Japan |
Partner | Yamada Kazue Myo-en |
Children | Masamichi Ryoun-ken Yamada |
Senior posting | |
Title | Roshi |
Predecessor | Yasutani Haku'un Ryoko |
Religious career | |
Teacher | Asahina Sōgen Hanamoto Kanzui Harada Daiun Sogaku Yasutani Haku'un Ryoko |
Yamada Koun Zenshin (山田 耕雲 Yamada Kōun?, 1907—1989), or Koun Yamada, was the former leader of the Sanbo Kyodan lineage of Zen Buddhism, the Dharma heir of his teacher Yasutani Haku'un Ryoko. Yamada was appointed the leader of the Sanbo Kyodan in 1967, 1970 or 1973 and continued to differentiate the lineage from other Japanese Zen traditions by deemphasizing the separation between laypeople and the ordained—just as his teacher Yasutani had done. Yamada was also instrumental in bringing Christians to the practice of Zen that “by the end of Yamada’s teaching career approximately one quarter of the participants at his sesshins were Christians”.
Yamada Koun was born in Nihonmatsu in Fukushima prefecture of Japan in 1907. He attended school with Soen Nakagawa at Dai-Ichi High School located in Tokyo, Japan, and also went to university with him. In 1941 Yamada began working for the Manchurian Mining Company as a labor supervisor—a company known for poor working conditions and exploiting its slave labor forces composed of Chinese peasants, POWs and criminals. By 1945 he had become deputy director of the General Affairs Department for the company.