Extensive life stories – Ryonen (lived around 1200)

named

The exact year of Ryonen’s birth is unknown, but she is thought to be around 35 years younger than Eihei Dogen, who lived from 1200-1253 and eventually became her Zen teacher. This places her birth around 1165.

Ryonen is the Japanese form of Liaoran, and she was likely named after the female Zen master Moshan Liaoran, who lived in China in the 9th century. Moshan Liaoran was the first female Zen master to be recognized and included in the Chan transmission lineage.

Little is known about Ryonen. However, if we piece together the brief fragments that likely refer to her, a picture begins to emerge.

historical context

Ryonen grew up in Japan during the transition from the Heian Period (794-1191) to the Kamakura Period (1192-1333), a shift marked by the transition from an imperial to a military government. This became the era of the shogunate and the samurai, Japan’s elite warrior class. 

There is much documentation about shoguns and samurai, but what was life like for ordinary people and for women? The lack of further information about Ryonen may indicate that she did not come from the higher aristocratic circles but from a more modest background. At that time, the majority of the population—some sources suggest 90%—consisted of farming families. If she grew up in this environment, what would life have looked like for her? 

Japan at that time was a relatively simple society compared to, for example, China. China was a land of significant development, with innovations across various fields. Through the Silk Road, trade was conducted with numerous countries, creating a fertile cross-cultural exchange. Japan, however, was a fairly isolated island group. Until the mid-19th century, it was a feudal society—a system based on loyalty pledges by vassals to their lords. In return, the vassal received a piece of land to manage, and was expected to fight for the lord in conflicts with outsiders. The land was cultivated by farmers, who had to give a portion of their yield to the vassals. Both vassals and lords grew quite wealthy under this system, in contrast to the farmers.



The structure of this feudal system highlights that men and lords were the ones who defined society. Women were viewed by men as second-class. Their rights and opportunities varied somewhat over the centuries, but they were consistently subordinate to men.

For centuries, there was a shortage of labor to work the land, which made having many children the norm, providing extra hands. However, child mortality was high, with half of all children dying before the age of five. Together, these factors likely meant that women in Ryonen’s time spent much of their reproductive lives pregnant and bearing children.

Homes for farming families were generally simple, damp, and cold. Clothing was made from hemp or ramie (a type of nettle) and offered little warmth or comfort. Food was scarce, and there was often not enough to go around. Cities such as Kyoto or Nara were highly unsanitary, becoming breeding grounds for diseases that claimed many lives.

Travel was infrequent due to Japan’s mountainous terrain, making long-distance travel difficult at that time. Given this travel difficulty, it is likely that Ryonen was born on the central island of Honshu, near Kyoto, as it is known that she later resided in monasteries around Kyoto.

Famine, natural disasters and war

When Ryonen was around 15 to 20 years old, there was a severe famine (1181-1182), triggered by alternating extreme drought and floods. The situation worsened as an epidemic broke out simultaneously. At the same time, the island was struck by devastating natural disasters, such as a typhoon and an earthquake, which caused heavy casualties and widespread damage. Additionally, the transition from imperial rule to military governance brought with it a five-year war (the Genpei War, 1180-1185).

Reports from that time depict a grim picture: parched rice fields, desperate people fleeing to the provinces, cities plagued by robberies and arson, streets littered with abandoned children, and masses of rotting corpses along public roads. All in all, it was a harsh period, especially on the central island of Honshu where Ryonen lived.

Image of a catfish, the symbol of earthquakes in Japan (Photo: Sabukara.online)

Daruma zen 

At some point, Ryonen became a nun. Was she ever married? Did she have children? Nothing is mentioned about her earlier worldly life. What we do know is that she practiced for a long time with the Daruma School and was ordained there. Some consider the Daruma School to be the first Zen school in Japan.

After Buddhism arrived in Japan in the 6th century, introduced by the woman Zenshin as the first Buddhist, it was officially recognized as a religion a few decades later. Multiple schools emerged in the following centuries. Eisai is often mentioned as the one who introduced Zen Buddhism to Japan. However, a few years before Eisai returned from China in 1191, Dainichibo Nonin had already started a Zen school based on Chan Buddhism. This school was successful and, as a result, unpopular with the traditional Buddhist schools.

Ryonen practiced for a long time with the Daruma-shu, and it was there that she was ordained. However, as a nun, she faced many restrictions. Women were thought incapable of reaching enlightenment and received limited support for practicing and studying the teachings. There were also various restrictions for nuns in terms of their roles within the community. For instance, women were barred from entering Mount Hiei. This sacred mountain was the center of ceremonies and gatherings for various Buddhist schools, but women and nuns were not allowed to attend, let alone participate. Could these restrictions have driven Ryonen to eventually leave and seek out Zen master Eihei Dogen, who held far more progressive views on women and their practice?

Mount Hiei
Dogen

Ryonen became a disciple of Dogen when she was 60, an older woman in relation to Dogen, who was about 35 years younger. Dogen was born in 1200 into an aristocratic family. Both his parents held high positions at court. His father died when he was 2, and his mother passed away when he was 7. On her deathbed, his mother expressed her wish for him to become a monk, a promise Dogen vowed to fulfill.

During his spiritual quest, he spent several years in China (1223-1227), studying and practicing with the Caodong School of Chan Buddhism, where zazen, or seated meditation, was the main practice. In China, he observed that women were treated with much more equality within the Buddhist tradition than in his own country. Male Zen masters had female disciples, there were nunneries and female Zen masters, and even more strikingly, these female masters taught not only other women but also male students.

At the age of 27, Dogen returned to Japan, where he began teaching Soto Zen, the Caodong tradition he had studied in China. Shortly after, Ryonen joined him and became one of his first disciples. 

Dogen on women

The fact that Dogen had a much broader perspective on women, their practice, and their potential for awakening is also reflected in his writings. For example, he states in Raihai Tokuzui: 

“What is so precious about being born a male? Space is space; four elements are four elements; five skandhas are five skandhas; the distinction between men and women is also thus. Both genders attain awakening. What you should pay respect is to the person who attains awakening; whether this person is male or female is beside the point.”

In another passage, he says: 

“What faults do women have? What virtues do men possess? … Say, you vow not to look at women, and yet you chant: “Sentient beings are numerous, I vow to save them all.” Are you not perchance excluding women from the category of “sentient beings”? If so, you are not a bodhisattva, nor are you exercising compassion. The notion of avoiding to look at women is nothing but the words of drunken madness uttered by sravakas.”

He also vehemently criticizes the rule prohibiting nuns from entering sacred Buddhist mountains and certain areas of temple complexes:

“There is a laughable practice unique to Japan. That is, they demarcate a certain area (kekkai) and call it the sacred realm or the hall of religious practice, into which nuns and women are forbidden to enter. This custom has been practiced for centuries now, without anyone questioning its validity.”

In China, Dogen encountered female Zen masters from the history of Chan. He names and discusses several of these female teachers in his writings, such as Zongji, Moshan Liaoran, and Miaoxin. He also references the old simple tea woman whose deep insight  left a great scholar like Deshan speechless. Dogen brings up these examples to illustrate how absurd it is to consider women inferior. He repeatedly emphasizes that women and men are equal, that both genders can attain awakening, that both possess Buddha-nature, and that a monk should listen to someone wiser, regardless of whether that person is male or female, a child, a monk, or a layperson.

He also acknowledges the role of women in his own country. In a text from 1249, he mentions that the Japanese Empress Tachibana no Kachiko was the first to introduce zazen meditation from China by bringing the Chinese monk Giku to Japan and building a monastery for him.

surpassing

Dogen recognizes that Ryonen is an advanced Zen practitioner. He is impressed by the depth of her understanding of the Dharma and her unwavering dedication. He writes several sermons – hogo in Japanese – in which he praises her. In one of the sermons directed at her, he says among other things:

“You Ryonen, the follower of this path, possess the seed of wisdom, and have early on embraced the demanding practice of the Buddhas. Though a woman, you are endowed with the mettle of a man of great caliber. You do not recoil from the arduous practice of cultivating the path. Thus, I composed this sermon for you on the subject of “Bodhidharma’s intention of coming from the West”.  (Eihei koroku)

This is a sermon, written in 1231 or earlier. He had only returned a few years back from China. His wording demonstrates his respect and admiration for Ryonen.


“snowflakes on a red-hot burning stove“

In another sermon, he also addresses her, recounting a story from the Chinese Zen master Mazu (709-788) about the koan “The mind is Buddha” and “No mind, no Buddha.” Dogen asks Ryonen how she would express this koan, signifying that he viewed her as a full-fledged Zen practitioner, regardless of her being a woman.

A third sermon he writes to her ends with the words:

“I stand by your most ardent determination to pursue this path, dear Ryonen, you who far surpass me in the understanding of the teaching.” (Eihei Koroku)

Indirect Confirmation?

Dogen states that Ryonen surpasses him in understanding the teachings. Yet, as far as we know, he never formally transmitted the Dharma to her. No woman has officially received transmission from him. Perhaps that step was too controversial for Dogen, who already faced significant criticism from other Buddhist traditions? 

Besides Ryonen, other female students joined Dogen’s community, both nuns and laywomen. Among them was the nun Egi, whom Dogen also held in high regard. Like Ryonen, Egi initially practiced with the Daruma School before joining Dogen in 1234. At the same time, her fellow monks Ejo, Ekan, and Esho also came from the Daruma tradition to Dogen’s monastery. He gave transmission to all three of these monks. He did not officially name Egi as a dharma successor, although Dogen declared at the end of his life that she was the dharma sister of Ejo, Ekan, and Esho. Perhaps this was Dogen’s way of indirectly confirming Egi’s insight and enlightenment?

Anyway, she cared for Dogen on his deathbed until the end. A special position, illustrating that Dogen fully trusted Egi and dared to show his vulnerability to her. She was also present when Dogen imparted his final instructions to his successor before he died on the way to a doctor.

special bond

That the relationship with Ryonen was special to Dogen is evident from another of his writings, in which he shares his decision years ago to let go the idea of marriage and having his own family. He mentions his solitary life in the mountain forest, which felt to him like countless eons (kalpas). Altogether, it comes across as a fairly personal expression.

Shortly after, he continues: “Is there anything that cannot be turned into a gateway to understanding? Is there any experience that cannot be turned to illumine our understanding? In my view, those who earnestly engage in the practice of the Buddha’s teaching share a similar attitude.” It’s as if he is confirming the shared dedication in their practice.

Dogen lost his mother at the age of seven. She had encouraged him to follow the spiritual path rather than the typical worldly path within the aristocracy. Dogen’s promise to honor her wish underscores her influence on his life. When Ryonen joined him, she was already an older woman, and it appears they connected deeply through their shared commitment. Did Ryonen perhaps embody a motherly presence for Dogen, one who saw and supported him? We may never know the full extent of Ryonen’s significance to Dogen, but her importance in his life is clear.

Ryonen’s death

Then Ryonen passes away. It is a great loss for Dogen, who expresses his intense grief in two poems he writes in her memory. He also takes this final occasion to praise her awakening and deep insight:

“There is no holiness in the vast universe”
steel-solid was your understanding of these words.
To test your awakening
was like putting snowflakes on a red-hot burning stove.
I cannot refrain from asking – whither have you gone?
What sort of moon are you gazing at from beneath the deep azure waves?

(Photo: Pexels)

The second poem about Ryonen reads:

A sheet of iron melts away [in your penetrating understanding]
Whereupon have fallen six-petal snowflakes?
Without you, I see no moon in the sky above reflecting on the deep water
How am I to gaze at the moon and count its age?

reflection

Ryonen is a remarkable ancestor. We have no writings from her, nor are there stories that capture her words. All we have are texts about her.
And yet, her influence is profound. She lived her daily life with awakened presence, and through this, her spirit resonates to this day.

sources