Roshi

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Roshi (老師, rōshi^?) is a Japanese word, common in Zen Buddhism, meaning "old" (ro) and "teacher" (shi). Roshi can be used as a term of respect, as in the Rinzai school; as a simple reference to actual age, as in the Soto school; or it can mean a teacher who has transmitted knowledge to, and thus "given birth" to, a new teacher.

Alternatively, as was remarked by Soko Morinaga Roshi, "A roshi is anyone who calls himself by the term and can get other people to do the same."

The Chinese term, lǎoshi (simplified: 老师; traditional:老師) is used in modern Chinese in a much more limited sense, normally meaning simply an ordinary teacher. The term shifu (simplified:师傅; traditional:師傅), sometimes translated as "master", is used to refer to Buddhist teachers and monks.