Account by the Monk Keizan of the Transmission of the Light
Denkō-roku short for Keizan oshō denkō roko, Jap. lit. “Account by the Monk Keizan of the Transmission of the Light”; collection of episodes from transmission situations in the history of the lineage of the fifty-two patriarchs of the Soto school, from Mahākāshyapa to Eihei Jō (Dōgen Zenji), as they were recounted by Master Keizan Jōkin and written down by his students.
The Denkō-roku shows how the dharma was authentically transmitted from Shākyamuni Buddha through the patriarchs of the Soto school; with the Shōbō genzō it is one of the most important writings of this school. The Denkō-roku should not be confused with the Dentō-roku (Ching-te ch’uan-teng-lu).
Some typical examples of the “transmission of the untransmittable,” which is characteristic of Zen, are the following episodes from the Denkō-roku: The first patriarch, the Venerable Mahākāshyapa: Once, as the World-Honored One, winking an eye, twirled a flower between his fingers [nenge-mishō] , Kāshyapa smiled. The World-Honored One said, “Mine is the treasure-house for the eye of true dharma, the wonderful mind of nirvana. With that I entrust Mahākāshyapa.”
The second patriarch, the venerable Ānanda, asked Venerable Kāshyapa, “Did the World-Honored One pass on anything else besides the gold brocade robe?”
Kāshyapa shouted, “Ānanda!”
Ānanda said, “Yes?”
Kāshyapa said, “Knock over the flagpole in front of the gate. “
Ānanda experienced great enlightenment.
The fifty-second patriarch, Eihei Jō Oshō [Dōgen Zenji] came (for instruction) to master Gen. One day when he asked him for instruction, he heard the kōan “Put a single hair simultaneously through many holes” and came immediately to enlightenment. In the evening he prostrated and asked: “I have no question about the one hair, but what about the many holes?”
Gen smiled slightly and said: “You have put it through! “
The master [Eihei] prostrated.
Source: The Encyclopedia of Eastern Philosophy and Religion: Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Zen. Shambhala Publications, Inc.
Denkō-roku documents
Books on Denkō-roku
External links