Hakugen was particularly interested in the contradiction between the forms of freedom espoused by Chinese Zen master Linji (Rinzai), the founder of Hakugen’s sect, and the socialist tradition, as represented by the thought of Karl Marx. It was, in a sense, a koan which he worked with throughout his career.  Linji famously exhorted students of […]

I am an agnostic on the question of rebirth. It is fun to think about, but I don’t see how, from my perspective, I could come to have any certainty about it without putting my faith in the words of others. It does, of course, matter greatly to many Buddhists whether or not there is […]

Excerpt from a longer essay about Hakugen I’m working on which explains and expands on his political-religious thought. Ichikawa Hakugen (1902-1986) was an important but poorly-known contributor to the theory of Buddhist anarchism, particularly to anarchism in the Zen tradition. Following in the footsteps of anarchist Buddhist priests Uchiyama Gudo and Taixu, he drew on […]

I’m currently working on a longer essay about the political and religious philosophy of Ichikawa Hakugen. It’s taking longer than I expected, but I hope to make it worth the wait. After that’s done I plan to return to the third part of the Buddhist-anarchist history essay. In the meantime, if you are interested in […]

Following an inquiry into anarchic elements of pre-modern Buddhist history we arrive in the 19th century, where “anarchism” first moves beyond philosophy and becomes a self-identified force driving social movements. As the primary ideology within the worker’s movement in the 1870’s-1910’s (Gradually becoming eclipsed by Bolshevism and social democracy by the mid 20th century), anarchism […]

Uchiyama Gudō (内山愚童) was born May 17, 1874, in Niigata Prefecture, Japan. He came from a family of rural woodworkers, and learned to carve Buddha statues from his father at an early age. When he was sixteen, his father died, which lead Gudō to renounce worldly life and join the Soto Zen sect, ordaining as […]