Eisai: Founder of Rinzai and Promoter of Green Tea

Eisai (1141 – 1215) was a Buddhist monk who founded the Rinzai sect of Buddhism in Japan and who helped popularize the drinking of green tea in Japan. Eisai is also known as Myōan or Yōsai Zenji, “Zen master Eisai.”

As so many famous Buddhist monks, Eisai studied on Mt. Hiei and was ordained a monk in the Tendai sect. He journeyed to Mt. Tiantai in China, the origin of the Tendai sect, and on his journeys became acquainted with Chan (Zen) Buddhism. He studied Chan and earned a certification to teach it. He returned to Japan in 1191, bearing Zen scriptures and green tea seeds.

After Eisai returned to Japan, he hoped to establish his own school based on Zen practice. Zen had been in existence some time in Japan, but never was it separated from other schools. In Kyoto, he ran into much opposition from the already established schools, particularly from Tendai, Pure Land, and Shingon. However, the history of Japan had taken an abrupt turn with the rise of the Minamoto and their Kamakura shogunate. Eisai traveled to Kamakura where he ingratiated himself with Minamoto no Yoritomo and particularly his wife, Hōjō Masako, who was instrumental in his establishing his own temple in the area.

Eisai introduced his Rinzai school to the Kamakura shogunate. Rinzai used nonsense riddles (kōan) to concentrate the mind during meditation. The idea was by exposing the limits of rational thought, riddles helped achieve enlightenment. Eisai became the master of religious ceremonies and grew close to Hōjō Masako. In 1199, Masako allowed Eisai to have the first Zen temple in Kamakura, dedicated to the recently deceased Minamoto no Yoritomo.

He was also fortunate in that the warrior class in Kamakura welcomed Zen. The samurai could relate to Zen’s discipline and its promise of immediate nirvana without tedious study and learning. Many warriors turned to Zen to atone for their previous misdeeds during combat.

 In 1202 Eisai started the first Zen temple in Kyoto, Kennin-ji, from a grant of land by Minamoto no Yoriie, the son of Yoritomo and Masako. Even though he never renounced his Tendai beliefs and continued in an eclectic belief system, his disciples eventually separated as the Rinzai school, which became one of the dominant Zen sects in Japan. He continued to practice as a Tendai monk incorporating Tendai esoteric practices.

Two of Eisai’s most famous writings, one to promote green tea, the other, to promote Zen were surprisingly practical. While the development of the tea ceremony became one of spiritual practice, Eisai in Kissa Yōjōki (Drinking Green Tea for Health) promoted green tea for its medicinal properties, particularly to cure heart ailments. In his work, Kōzen gokokuron (The Promotion of Zen for the Protection of the Country), Eisai argued that Zen practice could correct some of the errors that the established Buddhist sects had fallen into by bringing Buddhism back to its proper morals and practice and urged that the Minamoto should promote a government based on Zen to unify and protect the country.

Eisai attempted to treat shogun Minamoto no Sanetomo, the son of Minamoto no Yoritomo, of alcoholism with green tea.  He used it as a cure for hangovers, and Eisai provided Sanetomo with his writings, to show the benefits of green tea so that Sanetomo would switch to green tea as his beverage of choice.

During the Nara and Heian Periods, Buddhism has been used to unify the country. In Kōzen gokokuron, Eisai argued that those times of civil strife Buddhism, particularly Zen, would unify the country again. He relied on the principle that Buddhism is critical for a functioning society; the Humane King Sutra (Ninno kyo) stated that preserving Buddhism preserves one’s own country; and that Zen ideals could bring Buddhism back to its morals and best practices.

Eisai died at the age of 74 and is buried in Kennin-ji temple grounds.

One of his notable disciples was Dōgen, who started the Sōtō school of Zen in Japan.