à Âbaku Zen or the à Âbaku school () is one of three main schools of Japanese Zen Buddhism, in addition to the Sà Âtà  and Rinzai schools. The school was founded in Japan by the Chinese monk Ingen Ryà «ki, who immigrated to Japan during the Manchu conquest of China in the 17th century.
It had a strong influence on Japanese Rinzai, which partly adopted à Âbaku practices, and partly renewed older practices in response to the à Âbaku school.
The development of the à Âbaku-shà « in Japan began somewhere around 1620, a period when Chinese emigrants were coming to Nagasaki due to a decree by the shogunate allowing Chinese traders to conduct business there. The Chinese traders, in turn, began to request that monks from China come to Nagasaki "to serve the religious needs of their community and build monasteries in the late-Ming style with which they were familiar." The Chinese community was therefore thrilled when the founder of the à Âbaku, a master of the Linji school named Yinyuan Longqi (J. ), arrived from China in Nagasaki in 1654 with a small group of his Chinese students. Furthermore, Yinyuan himself was happy to get away from China, which was then amidst a terrible war. Yinyuan was there with the explicit purpose of helping three underdeveloped temples founded by Chinese emigrants grow in the city. These Nagasaki temples were known as the three "temples of good fortune," respectively Kà Âfuku-ji, Fukusai-ji and Sà Âfuku-ji. In time many Japanese heard of his teachings and traveled to Nagasaki to see him, while some came to join his community and become students. Having planned to stay in Japan for a short period of time, Yinyuan was persuaded by a group of his Japanese students to remain in Japan; this group secured him governmental permission to relocate to Kyoto, where his student Ryà «kai Shà Âsen wished he would then become abbot of the Rinzai temple Myoshin-ji. Authorities within the Rinzai organization were not keen on this idea, due primarily to a disagreement within the congregation as to whether or not Yinyuan presented a take on Zen that was too distinctly Chinese for Japanese tastes. As a consequence, Yinyuan began construction of the modern day head temple of the à Âbaku known as à Âbaku-san Manpuku-ji in 1661 in Uji of Kyoto prefecture (à Âbaku-san being the mountain name). This marks the emergence of the à Âbaku school/sect of Zen Buddhism in Japan.
Construction was completed in 1669, the architecture done in the Chinese Ming dynasty style. By authorization of the local bakufu leaders (i.e. Tokugawa Tsunayoshi), the à Âbaku-shu emerged to help revitalize Rinzai practice in Japan. The practice at Manpuku-ji was different from that in other Rinzai temples and monasteries of Japan during this period, being much more Chinese in its approach. Yinyuan brought with him aspects of esoteric Buddhism and Pure Land Buddhism. As Heinrich Dumoulin puts it, "For Zen practice in general, seated meditation and the practice of kà Âan are central, while cultic ceremony is of secondary importance. Insofar as the à Âbaku belonged to the Rinzai tradition, zazen and kà Âan practice were made part of daily life, but ritual was also accorded a place of considerable importance." Furthermore, à Âbaku monasteries and temples came to be governed by a doctrine known as à Âbaku shingi, which both imported Chinese practices such as the recitation (dharani) of nembutsu and "sought to preserve the Chinese character of the group." The à Âbaku also chanted sutras derived from the Pure Land Buddhist sect set to Chinese music.
After Yinyuan's retirement in 1664 and death in 1673, other monks who had come to Japan around the same time as he helped to carry on the tradition of practice at Manpuku-ji. The foremost of his disciples was Mokuan Shà Âtà Â, who became 2nd abbot of Manpuku-ji in 1664. During its formative years, Manpuku-ji was very popular in Japan with many adherents coming to the temple for instruction. According to the book Latter Days of the Law, "For the next century, Manpuku-ji was headed by Chinese immigrant monks, and they sent their Japanese followers to found other temples. à Âbaku Zen quickly spread through the country." At least one abbot of Manpuku-ji during this period of early à Âbaku history proved to be controversial. His name was Tu-chan Hsing-jung (Dokutan Shà Âtei), and he served as 4th abbot of Manpuku-ji. Critics charge that he took his emphasis on nembutsu recitation at Manpuku-ji too far, and he is today derisively nicknamed "Nembutsu Dokutan".
Perhaps the most important à Âbaku practitioner besides Yinyuan Longqi was Tetsugen Dà Âkà Â, a Japanese man who lived from 1630 to 1682. Tetsugen is remembered for having transcribed the entire Ming period Chinese Tripitaka to woodblocksâÂÂknown as the Tetsugen-ban or à Âbaku-ban (ban meaning edition). Raised as part of the Jà Âdo Shinshà « of Japan, Tetsugen first met Yinyuan in 1655 at Kà Âfuku-ji in Nagasaki and eventually came to join the à Âbaku. The first Japanese abbot of Manpuku-ji assumed leadership of the à Âbaku in 1740, a man by the name of Ryà «tà  Gentà Â. From 1786 on through to the modern-day, the à Âbaku has been run and controlled by exclusively Japanese leadership.
Today Manpuku-ji serves as the à Âbaku's head temple, with 420 subtemples spread throughout Japan as of 2006.
Monastic practices of the à Âbaku-shà « were once largely informed by the à Âbaku shingi (or, à Âbaku codes), composed in 1672 with ten sections outlining the practice regimen at Manpuku-ji. Steven Heine writes that, "The text reflected a few evolutionary changes that had taken place in Chinese monasteries since the Yuan, but it was squarely in the tradition of classical rules of purity such as the Chanyuan qingui and Chixiu baizhang qingqui." The Rinzai branch Myà Âshin-ji authored their own set of monastic regulations (penned by Mujaku Dà Âchà «) in response to this later in 1685. To be sure, Myoshinji was worried about losing students to the à Âbaku, who were growing in popularity. The à Âbaku's "emphasis on the precepts and the strict observance of monastic regulations embodied in à Âbaku shingi seem to have stimulated and encouraged certain Japanese masters of similar bent. In the Sà Âtà  school, for example, the Chinese teachers influenced the monastic codes of reformers like Gesshà « Sà Âko and Manzan Dà Âhaku who had studied under à Âbaku masters."
Historically, the à Âbaku-shà « has sometimes been referred to as "Nembutsu Zen"âÂÂa derogatory characterization intended to describe their use of "Zen and Pure Land practices." The à Âbaku-shà « emphasized the taking of various precepts and also observed the Vinaya of the Dharmaguptaka tradition as well as sutra translation. But perhaps most obvious to the Japanese was their use of nembutsu and also their use of the "nembutsu kà Âan" which entailed the practice of reciting the name of Amitabha while holding in one's mind the kà Âan, "Who is reciting?" While foreign to the Japanese (despite this "dual practice" being introduced in Japan as early as the late 13th century), this was very common in Ming period Chan Buddhism, where there was no sectarian divide between Pure Land Buddhists and Chan practitioners.
Heine and Wright note that:
As a result of their approach, which caused a stir in Japan, many Rinzai and Sà Âtà  masters undertook reforming and revitalizing their own monastic institutions, such as Rinzai master Ungo Kiyà  who even began implementing the use of nembutsu into his training regimen at Zuigan-ji. T. Griffith Foulk writes:
Rooted in the lineage (school) of Linji, and therefore sharing a familial relationship with the Rinzai-shà « of Japan, the à Âbaku's approach to practice is today tinged with a hint of Chinese influence. Helen J. Baroni writes that today, "With a few notable exceptions, such as the style of sutra chanting (which continues to be done in an approximation of Fujian dialect), à Âbaku temples and monasteries appear very like their Rinzai neighbors." Statistically the smallest school/sect of Zen in modern-day Japan, the à Âbaku is also like the Rinzai-shà « in that it is known to be more conservative and intellectually inclined than the Sà Âtà Â-shà «.
à Âbaku abbots are now all from the à Âtà Âkan lineage, the same as Rinzai, and thus practices are largely similar, though this was not the case originally. Specifically, starting under the leadership of chief abbot Ryochu Nyoryu è¯忠å¦Âé (1793âÂÂ1868), Zen practice largely became the same as Rinzai practice, but monastic and cultural differences remain. Additionally, Buddhist sutras in the à Âbaku-shà « continue today to be chanted in Tà Â-on.
In addition to their contribution to Zen in Japan, the à Âbaku also "disseminated many aspects of Ming-period culture" in the country. Many of the monks who came from China were accomplished calligraphers, and Obaku's founder Yinyuan Longqi and two other à Âbaku masters, Mokuan Shà Âtà  and Sokuhi Nyoitsu, became known as the à Âbaku no Sanpitsu (or, the "Three Brushes of à Âbaku"). Author Steven Heine writes, "Areas where the influence ofâÂÂor the reaction toâÂÂà Âbaku left an imprint on Japanese Buddhism is manifold, and its impact even reached the fields of Japanese cultural techniques, such as printing and painting. Chinese medicine and architecture were also introduced, as was the practice of "spirit writing", the latter practiced by à Âbaku monks who were said to communicate with Chen Tuan.
The à Âbaku school is also well known for its style of vegetarian cooking known as , its version of Buddhist cuisine (in Japan known as ). This is similar to usual shà Âjin ryà Âri, but with more Chinese influence. It was introduced by Yinyuan and his group, and served at the main temple of Manpuku-ji, along with various subtemples such as Kanga-an.
The à Âbaku school also introduced Ming dynasty tea culture to Japan, including the steeping of loose-leaf teas (sencha) rather than the powdered matcha used in chanoyu. à Âbaku monks and intellectuals such as Baisao opposed the rigid, elaborate formalism of chanoyu and promoted a carefree, informal approach inspired by ancient Chinese sages. This would later produce a new type of tea ceremony called senchado, and sencha would eventually become the most popular form of tea consumed in Japan.