"An iconoclastic lay-practitioner of Zen, Ikkyu (1394-1481) was a simple monk whose fame comes primarily from his practice of "Bodily Buddhahood" (sokushin jobutsu) a unique precept of Shingon Buddhism which holds that one is able to attain perfection not only in one's mind, or after the death of the body, but while yet living within the physical world. Amidst the strife of the shoguns' territorial battles, and the hypocrisy of elected Zen abbots and their political agendas, Ikkyu boldly made Zen accessible to a growing population by means of his own brand of creativity, wit, criticism, and compassion. " (Taken from the Read or Die OVA DVD "Archives" )