Muhō Noelke

Muhō Nölke(ネルケ vô phương)
Muhō Nölke(ネルケ vô phương)
Title	Priest
Personal
Born	March 1, 1968(age 56); Berlin,West Germany
Religion	Zen Buddhism
School	Sōtō
Senior posting
Teacher	Miyaura Shinyu

Muhō Nölke(ネルケ vô phương)(born March 1, 1968, asJens Olaf Christian Nölke)^[1]is a German-bornZen monkwho was the abbot ofAntai-ji,aJapanese Sōtō Zen templeinShin'onsenin theMikata DistrictofJapan'sHyōgo Prefecturefrom 2002 until 2020.^[2]He has translated works ofDōgenandKōdō Sawaki,and has authored five books in German and sixteen books in Japanese.

Biography

At age 16, Muhō was introduced tozazenby one of hishigh school teachersand soon had the wish to become a Zenmonk.To prepare for his stay inJapan,he studiedJapaneseat theFree University of Berlin,along withphilosophyandphysics.During his studies, he spent one year atKyoto Universityand learned for the first time aboutAntai-ji.At age 22, he spent six months there as a lay practitioner.

Three years later, after graduating from university, Muhō was ordained as aSōtō Zen monkunder theabbotMiyaura Shinyu Rōshi. Apart fromAntai-ji,he has trained for one year at theRinzai monastery Tōfuku-jiinKyoto,and one year atHosshin-jiinObama, Fukui.

After obtaining the transmission ofdharma(shihō) from histeacherMiyaura Rōshi, Muhō decided to live as ahomeless monkin a park in centralOsaka,where he led azazengroup in 2001. Six months later, in February 2002, he learned of the sudden death of his teacher and was called back toAntai-ji.He succeeded his teacher as the ninthabbotin the spring of that year. In 2020 he retired after 18 years as the abbot and appointed Ekō, a Japanese nun, as his successor. Since he retired as abbot, Muho spends most of his time in Osaka, where he leads a Zen group that meets every Sunday in Osaka castle park (except when it is raining).^[3]

Muhō has published numerous books and translations in both Japanese and German. He has also featured in several films, including documentaries by directorTakeshi Kitanoand broadcasterPeter Barakan's "Begin Japanology",as well asWerner Penzel'sfeature film"Zen for Nothing".

Bibliography

German

Zazen oder der Weg zum Glück.Rowohlt, 2007,ISBN 3-499-62203-3.
Ein Regentropfen kehrt ins Meer zurück.Berlin-Verlag, 2016,ISBN 978-3827013385.
Futter für Pferd und Esel: Das Dôgen-Lesebuch.Angkor-Verlag, 2018,ISBN 978-3943839630.
Das Meer weist keinen Fluss zurück.Berlin-Verlag, 2018,ISBN 978-3827013804.
Der Mond leuchtet in jeder Pfütze.Berlin-Verlag, 2020,ISBN 978-3827013927.

Japanese

Mayoeru mono no Zen shugyou.Shincho-shinsho, 2011,ISBN 4-10-610404-0.
Hadaka no Bousama.Sanga, 2012,ISBN 4-905425-12-3.
Tada suwaru.Kobunsha-shinsho, 2012,ISBN 9784334036928.
Ikiru hint 33.Asahi-shinsho, 2012,ISBN 9784022730992.
Otona ni naru tame no yatsu no shugyou.Shodensha, 2013,ISBN 4396113153
Mayoinagara ikiru.Daiwa-shobo, 2013,ISBN 9784479012108
Dogen wo gyakuyunyu.Sanga, 2013,ISBN 978-4905425472
Nihonjin ni shukyo ha iranai.Best-shinsho, 2014,ISBN 978-4584124321
Yomu dake Zen shugyou.Asahi-shinbun-shuppan, 2014,ISBN 978-4-02-331321-7
Mayoi ha satori no dai-ippo.Shincho-shinsho, 2015,ISBN 978-4-10-610603-3
Ari no mama demo ii, ari no mama de nakute mo ii.Best-shinsho, 2015,ISBN 978-4584136317
Kokoro ni hibiku Bukkyou no kingen 100.Takarajima-sha, 2015,ISBN 978-4800240248
Naze nihonjin ha gosenzo-sama ni inoru no ka.Gentousha-shinsho, 2015,ISBN 978-4344983816
Bukkyou no tsumetasa, Kirisutokyou no ayausa.Best-shinsho, 2016,ISBN 978-4584125090
Magenai Doitsujin, kimenai Nihonjin.Sanga, 2016,ISBN 978-4865640557
Kyou wo shinu koto de, ashita wo ikiru.Best-shinsho, 2017,ISBN 978-4584125489

Translations in English

Kōdō Sawaki:To You: Collected Sayings of Kodo Sawaki(co-translated by Jesse Reiho Haasch). Hohm Press 2021.ISBN 978-1942493709

Translations in German

Kōdō Sawaki:Tag für Tag ein guter Tag.Angkor 2008.ISBN 978-3-936018-57-8
Kōdō Sawaki:An dich. Zen-Sprüche.Angkor 2005.ISBN 978-3-936018-40-0
Kōdō Sawaki:Zen ist die größte Lüge aller Zeiten.Angkor 2005.ISBN 978-3-936018-30-1
Kōshō Uchiyama:Die Zen-Lehre des Landstreichers Kodo.Angkor 2007, übersetzt gemeinsam mit Guido KellerISBN 978-3-936018-51-6
Hitoshi Nagai:Penetre & ich: Philosophie für ein glückliches Leben.Berlin-Verlag 2021ISBN 978-3-827014-35-1

References

^"A German Zen Master",Japan Monthly Web Magazine(July 2013)
^"Antaiji – Muho".
^"Antaiji – Help Muho".

External links

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[1] "A German Zen Master",Japan Monthly Web Magazine(July 2013)

[2] "Antaiji – Muho".

[3] "Antaiji – Help Muho".

[1]

[2]

[3]

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