is a Buddhist priest (in charge of a temple);Kenkyusha's New Japanese-English Dictionary, Tokyo 1991, honorific title of preceptor or high priest (especially in Zen or Pure Land Buddhism). The same kanji are also pronounced kashō as an honorific title of preceptor or high priest in Tendai or Kegon Buddhism and wajō as an honorific title of preceptor or high priest in Shingon, Hossō, Ritsu, or Shin Buddhism.
Etymology Oshō is the Japanese reading of a Tibetan term meaning a high-ranking or highly-virtuous Buddhist monk. It is also a respectful designation for monks in general and may be used with the suffix -san.
According to the Kōjien Japanese dictionary and the Kanjigen dictionary of Chinese character source meanings, it is originally derived from the Sanskrit upādhyāya, meaning "master" in the sense of "teacher".
The literal meaning is "self-taught Buddhist monk/teacher"Oshobob, What is an Osho? The Chinese term "he-shang" is derived from the Sanskrit word upadhyaya or acharya:
The standard English translation of oshō has become "priest", it has a somewhat different connotation in Zen:
According to the Kōjien, the two characters that make up the word are pronounced oshō only in the Zen and Kegon schools. For example, they are read kashō in Tendai and wajō in Shingon Buddhism.
History Oshō became an honorific title for Zen-masters", meaning "harmonious respect":
An example of its use is in Rinzai's teachings:
Sōtō Zen In Sōtō Zen, to become an oshō, teacher, two more steps are to be taken after dharma transmission, namely ten-e and zuise.
Ten-e means "to turn the robe":
After zuise one becomes an oshō, whereafter one may become the resident priest in one's own temple. Hereby one can gain the highest rank:
To supervise the training of monks, further qualifications are necessary:
Rajneesh The term became well known in the West when Rajneesh began calling himself Osho.
See also Osho (disambiguation) Dharma transmission Zen ranks and hierarchy Dharmabhāṇaka
References
Web references
Sources
External links Muho Noelke: What does it take to become a full-fledged Soto-shu priest and is it really worth the whole deal? Part 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 The Formation of Soto Zen Priests in the West, A Dialogue