(1622-93)
Bankei was a Rinzai monk who lived during the Tokugawa period in Japan. During this time, the government required all families to register with a zen temple for record-keeping purposes, and Bankei recognized that this increase in the size of his congregation did not mean increased religious aptitude or interest. In response, he worked to make Zen teachings relevant to the dominant samurai culture and downplayed the need for strict religious practice. His teaching to the masses stressed the inherent Buddha-mind that all possessed, and he frequently spoke of the Unborn that underlay all phenomena and all thought.
