from every school of Buddhism. Struck by the sight of all these volumes of literature, Hakuin prayed to the gods of the Dharma to help him choose a path. He then reached out and took a book; it was a collection of Zen stories from the Ming Dynasty. Inspired by this, he repented and dedicated himself to the practice of Zen. First awakening Eigen-ji He again went traveling for two years, settling down at the Eigen-ji temple when he was twenty-three. It was here that Hakuin had his first entrance into enlightenment when he was twenty-four. He locked himself away in a shrine in the temple for seven days, and eventually reached an intense awakening upon hearing the ringing of the temple bell. However, his master refused to acknowledge this enlightenment, and Hakuin left the temple. Shōju Rōjin Hakuin left again, to study for a mere eight months with Shōju Rōjin (Dokyu Etan, 1642–1721). Shoju was an intensely demanding teacher, who hurled insults and blows at Hakuin, in an attempt to free him from his limited understanding and self-centeredness. When asked why he had become a monk, Hakuin said that it was out of terror to fall into hell, to which Shōju replied "You're a self-centered rascal, aren't you!" Shōju assigned him a series of "hard-to-pass" koans. These led to three isolated moments of satori, but it was only eighteen years later that Hakuin really understood what Shōju meant with this. Hakuin left Shoju after eight months of study, without receiving formal dharma transmission from Shoju Rojin, nor from any other teacher, but Hakuin considered himself to be an heir of Shoju Rojin. Today Hakuin is considered to have received dharma transmission from Shoju. Taigi – great doubt Hakuin realized that his attainment was incomplete. He was unable to sustain the tranquility of mind of the Zen hall in the midst of daily life. When he was twenty-six he read that "all wise men and eminent priests who lack the Bodhi-mind fall into Hell". This raised a "great doubt" (taigi) in him, since he thought that the formal entrance into monkhood and the daily enactment of rituals was the bodhi-mind. Only with his final awakening, at age 42, did he fully realize what "bodhi-mind" means, namely working for the good of others. Zen sickness Hakuin's early extreme exertions affected his health, and at one point in his young life he