Soko Morinaga's Struggle to Become a Zen Monk
This paper analyzes Soko Morinaga's autobiographical essay "My Struggle to Become a Zen Monk," examining the personal, historical, and spiritual forces that drove Morinaga to seek radical change in his life. The paper traces his journey from disillusionment following World War II — marked by the loss of family, inheritance, and faith — through his apprenticeship under master Goto Zuigan Roshi at Daishuin temple, and finally to his admission into the Daitokuji monastery. Central themes include the role of humility, tenacity, and submission to tradition as vehicles of personal transformation. The paper argues that Morinaga's peace of mind was achieved not through intellectual pursuit but through lived discipline and experiential learning under Zen guidance.
- Introduction: A Life in Need of Change: Overview of Morinaga's journey and paper scope
- The Roots of Disillusionment: WWII losses drive Morinaga to seek Zen refuge
- Lessons at Daishuin: Experience as Transformation: Roshi's teachings reshape Morinaga's worldview
- Humility and Tenacity at Daitokuji: Morinaga endures trials to gain monastic admission
- Conclusion: The Meaning of Soko's Struggle: Change requires submission, discipline, and perseverance
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What makes this paper effective
- The paper maintains a clear three-part analytical structure — why Morinaga needed change, how he pursued it, and what it ultimately meant — giving the argument a logical and easy-to-follow progression.
- It grounds its analysis in a specific textual example (the sweeping/rubbish lesson) to show how abstract themes like discipline and faith manifest concretely in Morinaga's experience.
- The paper draws a convincing connection between Morinaga's historical context (WWII, postwar Japan, loss of family and inheritance) and his internal psychological state, making the spiritual journey feel earned rather than arbitrary.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper effectively uses textual evidence integrated with interpretive commentary. Rather than simply quoting Morinaga, it unpacks what the quoted lesson reveals about the character's transformation — for example, explaining how the "no rubbish" teaching directly contradicts Morinaga's wartime cynicism. This technique, sometimes called the "quote-analyze" pattern, shows students how to make evidence do analytical work rather than speak for itself.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with a framing introduction that previews its three main points. It then devotes one body paragraph each to: (1) the causes of Morinaga's crisis, (2) his experiential learning under Roshi, and (3) his trial at Daitokuji. A concluding paragraph synthesizes the thematic argument about humility and tenacity. This compact five-paragraph structure is well-suited for undergraduate literary analysis essays at the introductory level.
Introduction: A Life in Need of Change
In the essay "My Struggle to Become a Zen Monk," Soko Morinaga describes his journey from being a student to arriving at the doorstep of Goto Zuigan Roshi, master of Daishuin temple in Kyoto, and finally becoming a Zen monk at Daitokuji monastery. The journey Soko experiences is one that demands patience, humility, and perseverance — but above all, it demands conformity to tradition and submission to something higher than himself. It is this submission that helps Soko overcome his feelings toward death and attain peace of mind. This paper explains why Soko felt the need for a significant change in his life, the steps he took to effect that change, and how that change impacted him and helped him achieve his goals.
The Roots of Disillusionment
Soko grew up during World War II and was a liberal arts student at the time. He was called into military service at the very moment his parents died, forcing him out of one familiar world — academia and family life — and into a world he neither knew nor liked: one where Western powers were exploiting countries in the East and committing atrocities in Europe. His wartime experiences, followed by the hyperinflation that struck Japan afterward and the government's seizure of his inheritance (the family land), caused him to lose faith in everything.
He was left with no peace of mind, no will to continue his studies, and no real desire to participate in the world at all. He came to believe that people are false and manipulative — yet this belief alone could not sustain him. He needed more. He admits that he could have turned to crime and joined a gang, but some remaining goodness within him led him instead to seek refuge among the Zen monks, even though he doubted their authenticity and wisdom. In seeking them out, he expressed his need for a significant change in his life. He gradually confessed to having no discipline, to needing experience, and to needing a master — someone to follow.
Even Soko himself did not fully understand what change he was seeking. He entered Daishuin under false pretenses, lying to Roshi about the degree of trust he felt for him. But eventually he did develop that trust — and more than trust: he developed love for Roshi and refused to leave his side, even when Roshi attempted to expel him. At that moment, Soko had transformed from a rootless wanderer into a true disciple. Roshi recognized it as well: master and disciple wept together in awareness of the bond that had formed between them.
Lessons at Daishuin: Experience as Transformation
How had that bond been formed? Through experience. Soko did not trust the old Roshi at first; he simply could not bear the thought of leaving the monastery so soon after arriving, which is why he lied about the extent of his trust. However, Roshi's lessons quickly impressed upon Soko the importance of paying attention to one's surroundings and of seeing goodness in all things. After Soko swept the floor, Roshi told him: "Originally, there is no rubbish in either men or things" (Morinaga 17). This teaching stood in stark contrast to everything Soko had come to believe since the War.
He had learned to appreciate nothing, to be skeptical of everything, and to view the world as hostile and threatening. He had no faith, no will, no peace of mind, and no way to reconcile himself to the fact of his own mortality. Roshi began to change all of that, step by step. The first step was to show Soko that neither men nor things were corrupt by design — that goodness existed in all things and that everything could be made whole again with care, attention, and discipline. The way Roshi sifted through the leaves, dirt, and rocks that Soko had dismissed as rubbish made a deep impression: the rocks filled divots left by rain, the earth filled holes in the yard, and the leaves were bagged for use as fuel. Everything had a purpose and a place; nothing was wasted.
Soko was moved by this lesson, the first of many. His daily experiences with Roshi accumulated gradually until, by the time he was ready to leave for Daitokuji to become a monk, his entire perception of himself and the world had changed. He had come to understand the value of humility and the power of tenacity.
Conclusion: The Meaning of Soko's Struggle
Soko Morinaga's essay "My Struggle to Become a Zen Monk" is, at its heart, a story about his struggle to change — to change from a young man without friends, family, meaning, purpose, or discipline to a capable adult with peace of mind and a place in the world. The significant change he achieved came about only because he was willing to subject himself to privations he had never before endured and to trust in the process of an ancient and traditional form of education. He submitted to Zen master Roshi even while inwardly skeptical, admitting trust mainly to avoid being expelled. But he soon saw that Roshi was genuinely wise and could offer him something that would allow him to obtain the peace of mind he desired.
Soko's love for Roshi developed rapidly — yet even with Roshi, he could not remain. To complete the total change he needed, he had to become a monk, and so he set off for Daitokuji. It was another process, another period of endurance. But the point of all his struggles, and of his retelling of them, is that no meaningful good is ever achieved without humility, tenacity, and the genuine desire to change oneself for the better.
Works Cited
Morinaga, Soko. "My Struggle to Become a Zen Monk." In Zen: Tradition and Transition, edited by Kenneth Kraft. New York: Grove Press, 1988.
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