Bankei Yōtaku

Bankei Yōtaku (盤珪永琢; 1622-1693) was a Japanese Rinzai Zen master, and the abbot of the Ryōmon-ji and Nyohō-ji. He was a major Zen figure of the Edo period and is best known for his emphasis on a minimalist sudden approach to Zen which simply relies on the unborn Buddha mind. He became well known in Japan for his public talks in colloquial Japanese which were popular among laypersons.