The surprising scope of Sotoshu
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(Please note that gold links are to pages in Japanese.)
If we were to ask practitioners in this country what Sotoshu does, what it’s engaged in, most folks wouldn’t have any idea. Some might say it does zazen and big ceremonies. A few might know about administrative functions, since we have to register our ango, or any new novices that we ordain, or teachers that receive dharma transmission. When you consider that Sotoshu is a denomination, you might guess some other things. Typically, a denomination has three main areas of functioning. There’s a religious function: defining and interpreting what doctrine means for that group, managing the clergy, and facilitating shared missions or activities. There’s an organizational function: providing oversight and accountability for local churches and clergy, and giving some legal structure to churches and congregations. Finally there’s an identity function: doing discernment around what distinguishes this group from others within the same broader religious tradition. In considering Sotoshu history we see evidence of each of these three areas, and that’s helpful so we have some context, but what does that look like on the ground today? It might seem like Sotoshu is mainly an archive or a fossilized system that mainly looks backward because it feels responsible for curating Dogen’s legacy and nothing more, but that's not the case, and you might be surprised by some of the ways and means Sotoshu uses to do its work and who’s engaged in those activities. The org chart for Sotoshu is pretty complex, but kind of interesting for that. We'll highlight a few things here, but this isn’t the whole story. The Sotoshu org chart has about eight layers, starting with the corporate leaders at the top and going down through various divisions and departments to the bottom layer of individual temples, clergy and temple families. We'll focus here mainly on the 7th layer, the one just above local temples, the equivalent of Sanshin. That includes:
Sotoshu also has affiliated schools starting with kindergartens and going all the way up to universities and grad schools. Let’s put those structures next to the main outreach areas or projects that Sotoshu has identified for itself in its efforts to help everyday people integrate teachings and practice into their lives. These are things like teaching zazen and holding zazenkai, holding sutra copying events and dharma teaching, and helping families with memorials and funerals. However, it's also talking about Zen and work, being aware of polite behavior, paying attention to small everyday activities like washing your face or brushing your teeth, and food practice. Monks give cooking classes to teach about vegetarian food in the temple, and these things sell out and seem quite popular. There are also opportunities for cultural events, things like learning about Ryokan's life and poems, hearing traditional music or engaging with storytelling. These efforts are of course primarily aimed at Japanese people in Japan, so we might not be so aware of them and our main interactions with Sotoshu might be administrative. There have been attempts to create resources for the international community over the years, but resources are shrinking, so the focus these days is really turning back inward to Japan itself. There are external forces at work on Sotoshu and it’s having to figure out how to respond. The three main issues today are a declining birthrate, an aging population (Japan has the world's oldest population), and increasing population mobility. That means it’s more important than ever for Sotoshu and its temples to connect with everyday people in a relevant way. If your congregation, your danka, shrinks or goes away, so does your financial support. But in addition to the efforts aimed at partnering with local temples, Sotoshu has several other initiatives in the world. For example, recently there was a national prayer gathering or memorial for people who’ve died by suicide. There were more than 20-thousand such people in 2024, frequently middle aged men, but at the moment the rate among schoolchildren is at an all time high. The denomination is responding as part of a longer term national effort to raise awareness and provide help. Sotoshu also holds an annual calligraphy exhibition by students in primary and middle school. It’s part of youth education, developing their religious understanding and sensibilities. The theme is Living with Sincerity and focuses on calligraphy about impermanence, interconnectedness and compassion. There are also opportunities for Scout groups to come to head temples for training weekends and earn their badges in Buddhism. In order to get your badge, you have to know these ten things: (1) To be able to speak about the biography and teachings of the Buddha. (2) To know significance Buddhist flag religious emblems (3) To know the name of the Soto sect, the name and location of the head temple, the name of the principal image, and the names of the two ancestors. (4) To be able to give an outline of the doctrines of the Soto sect. (5) To be able to speak about the biographies of the two ancestors. (6) To know the significance of Soto sect events. (7) To know and be able to perform the proper manners for worship. (8) To know how to decorate the Buddhist altar. (9) To be able to perform religious services at home. (10) To be able to sing Buddhist hymns. (11) To submit a record of practicing a life of gratitude and appreciation. (12) To serve in the local community and at sect temple events based on the teachings of the Soto sect and submit a record of that service. That’s a lot for young people! There are probably a lot of adults who don’t know all these things, and this is one way to reach out to the next generation and establish a practice connection. Then there's an interesting initiative called the Smile Gathering, held by the Temple Successor Counseling Center. Just as in North America, there are a lot of temples that don’t have anyone who can take over, and Sotoshu doesn’t want to lose all those temples. The Smile Gathering is “for those who want to connect with monks” and it's aimed at four groups:
If you have to run a denominational dating service, then that’s what you have to do. Two other examples of things Sotoshu is doing as outreach to everyday people: Publications: there are myriad publications, newsletters and magazines about particular things or aimed at particular audiences. In 2006 they stopped committing most of them to paper and instead started using the internet. If you can read Japanese, can see lot of them online. There are also sermon podcasts, YouTube videos, online classes and zazen periods. Sotoshu even has three free apps available: one is a sutra book, one is a journal for recording your feelings and improving your mental state, and one is for practicing baika, or hymn singing. There’s certainly no fear of embracing technology and reaching people where they are, and we can also see the effects of shrinking financial resources, because publications are expensive to print and distribute. Baika singing: Baika is our hymn singing tradition with handbells. It’s aimed at both sharing teachings and creating fellowship opportunities that encourage folks to visit temples, not to listen to concerts but to join singing groups and sing during temple events and ceremonies Now we can look at all this as a laundry list of activities and events and projects and think, why do we care? Here’s what we can take from seeing what Sotoshu is doing as a denomination that’s been around for a very long time. This is not Zen as a weekend hobby. This is not Zen as a self-help program or a personal spiritual quest. This is not Zen as a competitive sport or a philosophical debate. This is Soto Zen completely integrated into people’s lives, from the time they’re kindergarteners until they’re senior citizens. It’s for everyone, not just a few superheroes or samurai or buddhas. The temple is where you run into your friends, where your kids might hang out, or where you go for a neighborhood event. It’s well established as part of the overall community. Sotoshu is also active in three outward-facing three areas: human rights, peace work and the environment. We might think that this sort of thing is only happening in North America because somehow we’re more up to date and more engaged with society, but clergy and laity are working on projects both inside and outside of Japan. For instance, for several years Sotoshu has been talking a lot about the United Nations’ 17 sustainable development goals, suggesting to lay practitioners how they can make a difference for clean water or gender equality or reducing poverty in the everyday things they do at home. Sometimes you see clergy wearing a little SDGs logo pins on their rakusu. Taking each of these three areas in turn, starting with human rights, there are broadly three areas in which Sotoshu working, and it’s because historically, the Soto Zen denomination was part of the problem. Sotoshu says: Our efforts to eliminate social discrimination and establish human rights have an important meaning: “We are inheriting the teachings of the Buddha and his two ancestors on human equality.” The Buddha, who founded Buddhism, and the two ancestors of our Soto sect, Zen Master Dogen and Zen Master Keizan, preached the teachings of human equality based on the spirit of wisdom and compassion. It goes on to give one quote each from the Buddha and each founder: “What is given as a given name or surname in this world is merely a title” (Sutta Nipata) “Do not look at one’s lineage” (Shobogenzo) “The four surnames should not be used to distinguish between people, for they are all the same.” (Denkouroku) The issue of discrmination by names is a particular piece of Japanese history. In feudal days there was a class system in which people born in a certain area had lower status. That system was abolished in 1871, but the discrimination continues in things like employment or choosing marriage partners. If you’re applying for a job or want to get married, there are background checks, and these use government records but sometimes also temple death records. There have been accusations that the main purpose of the research was to determine whether someone is from a historical lower class. Sotoshu says it’s now refusing to participate in background checks and campaigning against them in general. The second human rights area is discrimination against people with leprosy, or Hansen’s disease, which breaks out during hard conditions like war and famine, which are not happening today. At the turn of the century sanitoriums were established and eventually all Hansen's patients were required to go there. This kind of forcible isolation resulted in discrimination even after people were cured, and it went on until 1996. The places in which patients had lived before the sanitarium, including temples and shrines in some cases, and anything they’d touched or used, were harshly disinfected. It created an image of a terrible infectious disease, athough the disease mechanism is actually relatively weak. On top of that, there were religious leaders who taught that Hansen’s was a karmic disease or divine punishment, caused by evil deeds in this life or a past life. In June 2001, Sotoshu started apologizing to patients and working to restore their human rights. That included repentance services, educational resources, training sessions and sanatorium visits. The third area of human rights work is in returning the remains of Korean laborers who were brought to Japan during WWII. They were either they forcibly deported and constripted or employed by Japanese companies, and then died in Japan. There was an agreement in December 2004 to cooperate in returning the remains of not only military personnel and civilian employees from Korea, but also those of former civilian conscripts. This led Sotoshu to reconsider its own involvement in war, aggression and colonial rule, and it’s issued letters of apology and repentance. It’s now working with temples where remains are buried and with bereaved families to return them to Korea. For example, in 1943 and 1944 up in Hokkaido, two military airfields were built using Korean forced labor. Those who died were buried in a communal cemetery, and when after the war a new communal cemetery was built, the Japanese graves were moved, but the Koreans were left behind. Now there’s an excavation project going on to find and identify these folks, and the remains are being put temporarily in a Soto Zen temple in the town. The point is to treat Japanese people buried at the temple and Korean people buried at the airfield with the same respect. This is seen as “an extremely religious undertaking.” The next area is working for peace. Interestingly, overseas activities come under the heading of peace work for Sotoshu, being in contact with temples like Sanshin and doing “missionary” work is working for peace. Also, in 1980 Sotoshu established a volunteer association called Shanti to work in Cambodian refugee camps in Thailand. These camps sheltered hundreds of thousands fleeing Khmer Rouge genocide and Vietnamese invasion. Shanti’s main focus now is on improving literacy and education around southeast Asia, Afghanistan and Nepal. They’re building schools, distributing books, and training teachers and librarians. The underlying doctrines around peace work at Sotoshu are the teachings of Buddha, Dogen and Keizan about building a society free from conflict and filled with compassion. In 1992 Sotoshu issued a “Letter of Apology” for its involvement in past invasions and colonial rule which says in part: We pledge never to make the same mistake again. No one, no matter how many people they may be, should be allowed to invade or persecuted by others. This is because people exist on this earth as irreplaceable beings. This applies to nations and peoples alike. If we reflect, even before World War II, our sect has a shameful history of repeatedly glorifying war and preaching in various ways both at home and abroad, which has led to hurtful messages to people in other countries. We hereby repent once more and join with you in our determination not to repeat such mistakes. From the standpoint of “non-aggression,” the Soto sect asserts that war is a wrong for everyone. It's interesting that in both human rights and peacework the starting point has been the need for reflection and coming to terms with Sotoshu’s own involvement with the problem. Rather than just saying “War is bad,” or “Discrimination is wrong,” there’s some ownership of past mistakes, and not just telling others what to do based on our own doctrine. Finally, there's environmental work, with activities in two areas: litter pickup and energy conservation. It’s based on teachings about interconnectedness, everything connecting with and supporting each other, and the approach is to promote practical ways of living that protect the environment. Thus we don't necessarily see complex discussions of climate change, but instead tips for conserving water at home while bathing or washing dishes, and other things individual practitioners can do on a daily basis. For example, there’s a big effort to organize litter pickup across the 14-thousand Soto temples. That’s 1.7 million members, and they’re doing the organizing by social media. Sotoshu is also promoting energy sources other than nuclear, and working on energy conservation, and again it’s suggesting things individuals can do:
Given Japan’s geography and geology, there’s also a lot of partnership on earthquake relief. There’s material support, like food, blankets, and medical care, but there’s also psychological support. The Toung Priests’ Association holds monk cafes, and these were particularly active after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. Cafes were places where people could hang out, drink coffee, eat cake, maybe listen to music, and start to talk about their emotions. Monks were there to listen, and to provide warmth, compassion and normalcy in a situation where people had lost everything: housing, belongings, family members. There isn’t the stigma with a monk cafe that there might be with therapy or a government program. Most people are a bit suspicious of religion, so the cafes aren’t about overtly teaching the dharma or filling the space with information or instructions. Today there are also monk bars and monk restaurants and other things that are aimed at indirectly bringing the dharma to people in the community who are suffering. Again, all this is great, but why do we care here in North America? Here’s what we can take from understanding the overall scale and scope of what Sotoshu is doing: these activities are gateways into dharma and practice, and opportunities to make them real outwardly in the world. Looking inward, kids who are participating in a calligraphy exhibition or scout troop activities, older ladies who sing in baika groups, or someone thoughtfully preparing a meal at home are seeing, hearing and internalizing Buddha’s teachings. In addition to being able to hear a sermon podcast or copy a sutra or join a zazenkai, you can pick up litter in your neighborhood with temple friends. You don’t have to sit a hardcore sesshin or be a high level intellectual. You can engage with the three treasures by stringing prayer beads for a mala or downloading a coloring book for your kids. Facing outward, those running monk cafes, volunteers working on mobile libraries, or people working with Hansen’s disease patients are all making Buddha’s teaching real in the world for others as well as themselves. We don't need to be apologists for Sotoshu, or to deny that it has issues. Of course it does, just like every human organization, and it functions in ways we don’t understand because of cultural differences and the way its history has played out. However, it may be that most North American practitioners think we invented chaplaincy or community partnerships or children’s practice or “meeting people where they are.” We may think we’re the only ones dealing with pushback from a secular society, or the challenges at the intersection of technology and practice. The human rights issues we face in North America aren’t the same as those in Japan, but we are all dealing with the need to not look away from suffering. The reasons we may be seen as irrelevant, or that we might not have as much participation in temple activities as we’d like, are different, but we’re all considering what our sanghas really need from us and how we might provide it. No temple ever has enough resources, financial or otherwise, no matter where it is, so what fundraising initiatives are happening in Japan and here, and what can we learn from that? It can be helpful to see what a denomination operating on scale of Sotoshu is creating and trying. What audiences is it talking to? What messaging is it putting out there? What practice activities is it making available, and how is it doing that in a globally connected world? And again, it can be useful to see how Soto Zen functions in a culture where practice is not primarily about self-help. It’s not a special thing you do on the weekend. It can be how you live every day, and not just if you’re clergy or training in a training temple. It’s a helpful example of creating spiritual community. There are certainly efforts to teach the dharma and encourage people to sit zazen; there are lots of resources like sermons, booklets, instructional videos, online sessions and conferences, and website information about memorials and how to find the temple closest to you. However, there’s also a lot of emphasis on simply making connections between people and temples, people and clergy, and between practitioners themselves -- in other words, integrating spiritual and social. As Soto Zen develops in North America, we might pay a bit of attention to the scope of Sotoshu activities. and they might be helpful examples of ways to make sure we’re not leaving our practice in the zendo but bringing it with us into the rest of our lives. |
A poster for the Smile Gathering
Chaplaincy at Cafe de Monk
Learn more about Taio Kaneta of Tsudaiji and his disaster relief work, an example of the surprising scope of Soto Zen. The contemporary Buddhist world in Japan has declined, but we cannot give up the original teaching of Shakyamuni. We must turn to America and Europe and transmit
the correct Buddhist law to those who seek it there, as well as here in Japan. I wonder who can do this if not nuns who do not have families and are seriously engaged in Buddhism? This is why, in these times, in the declining age of present-day Japanese Buddhism, we will not surrender. I think it is we nuns who can take the responsibility for conveying the original form [of Buddhism] to Europe and America, and to the next generation. -- Aoyama Shundō 青山俊童, head of Aichi Senmon Nisōdō 愛知専門尼僧堂 in Nagoya, in this article |
