Hanazono University (花園大学, Hanazono Daigaku) is a private university in Kyoto, Japan that belongs to the Rinzai sect (specifically the Myōshin-ji temple complex, which it is next to). The university and the neighborhood are named for Emperor Hanazono, whose donated his palace to make Myōshin-ji.

Hanazono University courtyard

It is a major competitor of the Sōtō college in Tokyo known as Komazawa University. Despite the university's sectarian affiliation, the school accepts Soto students.[1] The school operates two research centers important in Zen academia, i.e. the Institute for Zen Studies and the International Research Institute for Zen Buddhism.[2] Founded in 1872 as a seminary for those interested in the priesthood, the university carries on that tradition while offering an education to those uninterested in becoming a priest. The university's president is Dr. Kosan Abe.[3] Former presidents include Eshin Nishimura.

Since 1979, the Institute for Zen Studies has organised together with the Monastic Interreligious Dialogue (DIMMID) the so-called East-West Spiritual Exchanges in which Buddhist and Christian monks or nuns take turns residing for one month in each other’s monasteries.[4]

References

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  1. ^ Smyers, 223
  2. ^ Hori, xii
  3. ^ "HANAZONO University".
  4. ^ de Béthune, 2020

Sources

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  • de Béthune, Pierre François (2020). "Prayer and Hospitality". Dilatato Corde. X (2 - July - December). DIMMID. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  • Hisamatsu, Shin'ichi; Gishin Tokiwa; Christopher Ives (2002). Critical Sermons of the Zen Tradition: Hisamatsu's Talks on Linji. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 0-8248-2384-2. OCLC 44117857.
  • Hori, Victor Sōgen (2003). Zen Sand: The Book of Capping Phrases for Kōan Practice. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 0-8248-2284-6. OCLC 50590697.
  • Smyers, Karen Ann (1999). The Fox and the Jewel: Shared and Private Meanings in Contemporary Japanese Inari Worship. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 0-8248-2102-5. OCLC 231775156.
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35°0′59.2″N 135°43′35.7″E / 35.016444°N 135.726583°E / 35.016444; 135.726583