Shakyamuni Buddha was the originator and Master in the line of 52 Ancestors or Patriarchs - as they have been called - in the Soto Zen Buddhist tradition. Each successive ancestor represents a generation of the teaching of the UNBORN and how it was passed down to each successive Master in the line of the transmission. Although not much is known about the lives of many of these great Patriarchs, the moment of transmission was preserved due to the diligent efforts of the Master Keizan Zenji when in 1300 he began writing The Denkoroku: The Record of the Transmission of Light to record each moment of enlightenment for future generations of monks.
Origination of Soto Zen Ceremonies
Most of the religious ceremonies used in the Soto Zen Tradition were written by the Master Keizan Zenji who was author of many works including the Sankon-Zazen-Setsu and Denkoroku.
Becoming Chief Abbot of Shogakuji Monastery in 1321, he’d lived a life of great devotion to reach this great pinnacle. In 1267, he was born in the Fukui Prefecture. Entering a monastery in Eiheiji, he learned from Koun Ejyo and Tettsu Gikai. He became one of the greatest of the Soto Zen Ancestors with his greatest work having been to document the line of the transmission of the Way all the way back to Shakyamuni Buddha. The Shogakuji Monastery was later made one of the two primary temples in Japan for the Soto Zen Church.
Transmission of the Way
Recording the actual moment in which the Way was transmitted from one successive generation of Masters to the next The Denkoroku: The Record of the Transmission of Light shows the continuum of Zen Transmission for 52 generations. Every story contains the exact narrative on record as to the exact manner in which each of the great ancestors and patriarchs received the TEACHING and understood the UNBORN.
Saint Anabotei, The Twelfth Ancestor
“Anabotei asked Funayashya, ‘I want to know Buddha but what precisely is Buddha?’ Funayashya said, ‘So you want to know what BUDDHA is; THAT which does not know is BUDDHA.’ Anabotei asked, ‘Since Buddha does not know, what knows what Buddha is?’ Funayashya responded, ‘Since you do not know BUDDHA, what knows that it does not know?’ Anabotei said, ‘This is what ‘being like the teeth in a saw’ means.’ Funayashya said, ‘This is what ‘being a felled tree’ means’ adding, ‘What does ‘the teeth in a saw’ mean?’ Anabotei replied, ‘That you and I are lined up together as equals, Master. What does ‘the felled tree’ mean?’ Bunayashya said, ‘You have been sawn free by me.’ Anabotei awoke at once to his TRUE SELF. The Denkoroku: The Record of the Transmission of Light.
Anabotei was also known as ‘He Who Is Superior in Meritorious Effort’ because of his singlemindedness in performing good works and was from Harana.
“In the country village the peach blossoms
did not know that they were red
Yet they taught Ling-yun
How to arrive at certainty.”
Keizan Zenji summarizes the teaching of Anabotei
Sources: The Denkoroku: The Record of the Transmission of Light – Keizan Zenji, Shasta Abbey Buddhist Monastery
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