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 Ananda, The Second Ancestor
“Ananda asked Makakashyo, ‘My elder brother in the Dharma, when the World-honoured One Transmitted the kesa of gold brocade to you did He pass on anything else?” Makakashyo called out, ‘Ananda!’ When Ananda acknowledged the call, Makakashyo said, ‘Chop down the flag pole in front of your temple gate!’ and Ananda awakened to his TRUE SELF.” The Denkoroku: The Record of the Transmission of Light.
Ananda was Shakyamuni Buddha’s cousin and a member of the warrior-nobles caste in Rajagriha. Ananda means ‘He Who Is a Delight’ or ‘He Who Is a Joy,’ and he was born on the same night that his cousin, the Buddha, achieved enlightenment. He was known to be very good looking and handsome and his name was given to him for this reason. He attended to the Buddha himself for twenty years.
“When the vines have withered,
the trees have fallen
and the mountains have crumbled away,
The valley stream, in cascades,
Will gush beyond its banks
And the very rock will pour forth fire.”
Keizan Zenji summarizes the teaching of Ananda
Sources: The Denkoroku: The Record of the Transmission of Light – Keizan Zenji, Shasta Abbey Buddhist Monastery
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