The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (717 page)

 
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(1809–79).
Reform Jewish
theologian. Because he could not find rabbinical employment in Europe on account of his radical views, he emigrated to the United States in 1855 and became
rabbi
of Congregation Adath Israel, New York, in 1866. He strongly believed in introducing vernacular prayers and rejected the divine origin of the
Talmud
. In his view, ‘the doctrinal and moral law of Scripture’ is ‘the imperishable spirit of Judaism’; other laws are marks of the
covenant
, which can change with the times if necessary.

 
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(Heb., ‘the Infinite’).
Kabbalistic
designation of God in his transcendence. The term first appeared in the 13th century in the circle of Isaac the Blind. It was used to distinguish between God-in-himself and his
sefirot
(emanations) by which humanity can know him. For comparable reticence in other religions, see
VIA NEGATIVA
.

 
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(1141–1215).
A
Tendai
monk who established the
Rinzai
Zen Buddhist school in Japan. He began his career at Mount Hiei, studying Tendai esotericism, but went to China in 1168. He returned to Japan in 1191 and built the first Rinzai Zen temple, Sh
fukuji. In spite of the strong opposition from Mount Hiei against the establishment of Zen, he was successful in founding Kenninji (monastery) in Ky
to and Jufukuji in Kamakura. His polemical work,
K
zen gokoku ron
(Dissemination of Zen for the Defence of the Nation), argues for the need of an independent Zen school, although he himself taught a synthesis of Tendai, esotericism, and Zen. He is also famous for introducing the cultivation of tea (see
CHAD
) to Japan and writing the first book on the merits of tea drinking,
Kissa y
j
ki
. He instructed
D
gen
, and for that reason, although his own lineage died out, he is often regarded as the founding figure of Zen in Japan. He was given the posthumous title of Senk
Kokushi.