The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (2006 page)

Rinzairoku
.

Abbreviated title of
Chinj
Rinzai Esh
zenji goroku
, Chin.,
Chen-chou Lin-chi Hui-chao ch’an-shih yü-lu
, a major and classic work of Zen Buddhism. Its present form dates from the 12th cent. CE, and it is in three parts:

(i) Discourses (
goroku
);
(ii) Dialectic (
kamben
), questions and answers addressed to true existence;
(iii) record of pilgrimages (
anroku
), which includes an account of Lin-chi's enlightenment, and a memorial inscription.

 
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(Jap. pronunciation of ‘Lin-chi’, the Chinese founder of the line, +
sh
, Jap., ‘tradition’, ‘school’, or ‘teachings’). With
S
t
sh
, one of the two dominant forms of
Zen Buddhism
widely practised in Japan. This tradition, founded by the Chinese master,
Lin-chi
I-hsüan (d. 867), is usually considered to have been introduced into Japan by Y
sai, also known as
Eisai
(1141–1215). In fact, however, it did not crystallize as an independent Japanese school until two or three decades after his death. The modern Japanese tradition owes much of its spiritual development to the revitalization of the practice brought about by
Hakuin Ekaku
(1685–1768).
Rinzai-sh
is noted for its emphasis on the more audacious forms of Zen training, including shouting, striking, and the dynamic exchanges between master and disciple centring on the
k
an
. According to Hakuin, the master's role is to bring about a crisis in the student called the ‘Great Doubt’ or the ‘Great Death’ so that, in a moment of realization (
satori
), the student makes a spiritual breakthrough.
When the Rinzai school was officially recognized by the state, it was organized in a tripartite system of
gozan
(Five Mountains),
jissetsu
(Ten Temples), and
shozan
(the remaining larger temples). The list of Five Mountain temples changed many times (though it remained based on
Ky
to
and Kamakura), but this structured and state-recognized form of Rinzai is often called Gozan Zen.