Shōmyō also Nampo Shōmyō (Jōmyō) or Nampo Sōmin, as well called Daiō Kokushi (kokushi), 1235-1309; early Japanese Zen master of the Yōgi lineage of Rinzai Zen (Yōgi school); a student and dharma successor (hassu) of Chinese Ch’an (Zen) master Hsu- t’ang Chih-yu (Jap., Kidō Chigu). Shōmyō brought the lineage of Ch’an (Zen) to Japan to which Hakuin Zenj i belonged and contributed greatly toward the establishment of Zen in Japan.
Shōmyō began his training in Kenchō-ji in Kamakura under Lan-ch’i Tao-lung, a Chinese master who had settled in Japan. In 1259 he traveled to China, where he experienced enlightenment under Master Hsu-t’ang and received the seal of confirmation (inka-shōmei) from him. He returned to Japan and was active in Kamakura, on the island of Kyūshū, and in Kyōto as a Zen master. Unlike many another early Zen master (for example, Eisai Zenji, Ben’en, Kakushin) Shōmyō did not mix Zen with elements drawn from the Tendai or Shingon schools; rather he transmitted the pure kanna Zen of the strict Yōgi school. Thus later masters of this lineage like Ikkyū Sōjun and Hakuin Zenji, in whose time Rinzai Zen in Japan was already in decline, appealed to the example of Shōmyō’s master Hsu-t’ang and speak of themselves as his true dharma heirs. Shōmyō’s most famous dharma successor was Myōchō Shūho (also called Daitō Kokushi).
Source: The Encyclopedia of Eastern Philosophy and Religion: Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Zen. Shambhala Publications, Inc.
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