Goke-shichishū B Jap., lit. “five houses seven schools”; general term for the seven schools of Ch’an (Zen) during the T’ang period; these stemmed from five lineages (“houses” or “families”).
The five houses and their founders are (1) the Rinzai school of Lin-chi I-hsüan (Jap., Rinzai Gigen); (2) the lgyō school of Kuei-shan Ling-yu (Jap., Isan Reiyū) and Yang-shan Hui-chi (Jap., Kyōzan Ejaku); (3) the Soto school of Tung-shan Liang-chieh (Jap., Tōzan Ryōkai) and Ts’ao-shan Pen-chi (Jap.,Sōzan Honjaku); (4) the Ummon school of Yun-men Wen-yen (Jap., Ummon Bun’en); and (5) the Hōgen school of Fa-yen Wen-i (Jap., Hōgen Bun’eki).
The seven schools are the above-mentioned five houses plus the two further schools into which the Rinzai school split after Shi-shuang Ch’u-yiian. These two are (6) the Yōgi school of Yang-ch’i Fang-hui (Jap., Yōgi Hōe) and (7) the Ōryō school of Huang-lung Hui-nan (Jap., Ōryō E’nan). (See also the Ch’an/Zen Lineage Chart.)
Source: The Encyclopedia of Eastern Philosophy and Religion: Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Zen. Shambhala Publications, Inc.
Books on Goke-shichishū
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