Charismatic Authority
The Sanbō Kyōdan was also influential in introducing charismatic authority in western Zen, by its dependency on the authority of Yasutani, while simultaneously standing outside the mainstream of Japanese Zen. It was implemented into a culture which is unaware of the specific characteristics of Japanese culture regarding authority. The stress on kensho as means of authority, coupled to the primacy of maintaining the correct Dharma transmission, led to institutional problems when Yasutani's heir Yamada Koun died. Seeing one's nature gives an autonomous confirmation of Zen's ultimate truth, which may conflict with the need to maintain institutions and traditions.
Read more about this topic: Sanbo Kyodan
Famous quotes containing the word authority:
“We rarely quote nowadays to appeal to authority ... though we quote sometimes to display our sapience and erudition. Some authors we quote against. Some we quote not at all, offering them our scrupulous avoidance, and so make them part of our “white mythology.” Other authors we constantly invoke, chanting their names in cerebral rituals of propitiation or ancestor worship.”
—Ihab Hassan (b. 1925)