Katsu (Zen)

"Katsu" (Japanese: ; Cantonese: "Audio|Hot3.ogg|hot3", Pinyin: "hè", Wade-Giles: "ho") is a type of shout that is used in Chán and Zen Buddhism to give expression to one's own enlightened state (Japanese: "satori") and/or to induce another person to move beyond rationality and logic and, potentially, achieve an initial enlightenment experience. [Dōgen 190] The shout is also sometimes used in the East Asian martial arts for a variety of purposes; in this context, "katsu" is very similar to the shout "kiai". [ [http://www.tcd.ie/Clubs/Karate/generalterminology.php#K Dublin University Shotokan Karate Club ] ]

The word in Chinese means literally "to yell" ["Ibid."] or "to shout", [ [http://cgibin.erols.com/mandarintools/cgi-bin/charlook.pl?searchmode=standard&printtype=utf8&chartype=trad&ordering=frequency&display=char&display=radstroke&display=strokes&display=pinyin&display=english&display=cantonese&display=variants&display=unicode&display=gb&display=big5&enctype=big5&whatchar=%B3%DCBD&searchchar=Search+by+Character&lowerb=&upperb= Character Search Results ] ] and in Japanese has also developed the meaning of "", [ [http://www.saiga-jp.com/cgi-bin/dic.cgi?m=search&sc=0&f=0&j=%E5%96%9D&g=&e=&s=&rt=0&start=1&sid=1161114881_32668 Japanese Kanji Dictionary ] ] "to scold", and "hoarse". [ [http://www.j-talk.com/nihongo/search/kanjisearch.php?skanji=%E5%96%9D Kanji Search - Search %E5%96%9D results ] ] However, in the context of Chan and Zen practice, the word is not generally used in its literal meaning(s), but rather—much as with the martial arts shout of "kiai"—as fundamentally a means of focusing energy. When the Chan and Zen practice of the "katsu" first emerged in Jiangxi province in the south of Tang dynasty China in the 8th century CE, the word was pronounced roughly as /xat/, [http://www-personal.umich.edu/~wbaxter/pdf/d041-060.pdf] a pronunciation that is largely preserved [Watson xiv] in the Japanese "on'yomi" ("Sino-Japanese") reading of the character as [katsɯ] or [katsɯ̥] , as well as in Cantonese and Minnan Chinese. [ [http://203.64.42.21/iug/ungian/SoannTeng/chil/chha.asp 台文/華文線頂辭典 ] ]

The "katsu" shout, insofar as it represents a kind of verbal harshness and even violence, can be considered a part of the Mahāyāna Buddhist doctrine of "skill-in-means" ( _sa. upāya-kauśalya), which essentially teaches that even an action or practice which seems to violate Buddhist moral guidelines—in this case, the Noble Eightfold Path's injunction against "abusive speech" [Thanissaro 96] —is permissible, and even desirable, so long as it is done with the aim of ultimately putting an end to suffering and introducing others to the dharma, or teachings of Buddhism.

The most celebrated and frequent practitioner of the "katsu" was the Chinese master Línjì Yìxuán (?–866), and many examples of his use of the shout can be found in the "Línjì-lù" (臨済錄; Japanese: "Rinzai-roku"), or "Record of Linji", which is a collection of Linji's actions and lectures:

Linji had learned the use of the "katsu"—as well as other somewhat antinomian methods such as striking disciples with a stick or a fly whisk ["Ibid." 15] —from his own master, Huángbò Xīyùn, who had learned it from Bǎizhàng Huáihǎi, who had learned it from one of the preeminent Chan masters of Tang dynasty China, Mǎzǔ Dàoyī (709–788). [Dumoulin 2005, 180] Linji greatly developed and used the "katsu" technique, and in one of his lectures—often termed as "Linji's Four Shouts" [Watson, 99] —he distinguished four different categories of "katsu":

The school of Chan that largely emerged from Linji's methods was, after the Japanese pronunciation of Linji's name, the Rinzai school, which flourished in Japan—with strong samurai support—beginning in the 13th century. The Rinzai school continued the practice of the "katsu", as can be seen through the examples of the death poems of certain Rinzai priests:

::"Katsu!":On the death bed—"Katsu!":Let he who has eyes see!:"Katsu! Katsu! Katsu!":And once again, "Katsu!"::"Katsu!" [Hoffmann 128] :—Yōsō Sōi (養叟宗頤, 1379–1458)

:For over sixty years:I often cried "Katsu!" to no avail.:And now, while dying,:Once more to cry "Katsu!":Won't change a thing. ["Ibid." 107] :—Kokei Sōchin (古溪宗陳, 1515–1597)

The use of the "katsu" shout continues in both Chinese and Japanese Rinzai monasteries, [Dumoulin 1979, 62] and indeed has become something of a standardized practice in many different situations therein. [Payne, 24]

Notes

References

*Dōgen. "Dogen's Pure Standards for the Zen Community: A Translation of the" Eihei Shingi. Tr. Taigen Daniel Leighton and Shohaku Okumura. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1996. ISBN 0-7914-2710-2.
*Dumoulin, Heinrich. "Zen Buddhism: A History. Volume 1: India and China". Tr. Heisig, James W. and Knitter, Paul. Bloomington, Indiana: World Wisdom, 2005.
*—. "Zen Enlightenment: Origins and Meaning". Weatherhill Publishers, 1979. ISBN 0-8348-0141-8.
*Hoffmann, Yoel; ed. and tr. "Japanese Death Poems: Written by Zen Monks and Haiku Poets on the Verge of Death". Singapore: Charles E. Tuttle Company, Inc., 1986. ISBN 0-8048-1505-4.
*Payne, Richard K.; ed. "Discourse and Ideology in Medieval Japanese Buddhism". New York: Routledge, 2006. ISBN 0-415-35917-1.
*Thanissaro Bhikkhu; tr. " [http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn45/sn45.008.than.html Magga-vibhanga Sutta: An Analysis of the Path] ", 1996. Retrieved 17 October 2006.
*Watson, Burton; tr. "The Zen Teachings of Master Lin-Chi: A Translation of the Lin-chi lu". New York: Columbia University Press, 1999. ISBN 0-231-11485-0.