Eshin Nishimura

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Eshin Nishimura (西村 惠信; born 1933) is a Japanese Rinzai Zen Buddhist priest and a scholar. He is based at Hanazono University in Kyoto, where he serves as a professor in the Department of Buddhism and is a former president of the university. He is also a leading figure in the Kyoto School of philosophy. Nishimura has given lectures around the world on Zen Buddhism, written many books (mostly in Japanese), and participated in discussions about Zen, Christianity, and Western philosophy.

Personal life:
Nishimura was the youngest of six children in a family of Rinzai practitioners. He has said that he entered the priesthood at age two and grew up living in a Zen temple.

Education and teaching:
He graduated from Hanazono University in 1956 with a degree in Buddhist Studies. In 1969 he traveled to Oberlin College to give talks on Zen. In 1970–71 he taught a ten-week course on Zen at Carleton College, and in 1989 he taught another Carleton course on Keiji Nishitani’s Religion and Nothingness.