The Denkoroku: The Record of the Transmission of Light, written by the Master Keizan Zenji, is considered to be highly intuitive according to his contemporaries and counterparts. In about the year 1300, Zenji realized that the stories of Soto Zen Buddhist transmission from Patriarch to Patriarch would be lost if it were not set to writing. It was then that he set his pen to record as much as could be recovered from the lives, and more importantly, the actually moment of Zen Transmission from Master to disciple. These disciples were to become the Masters of the following generations, and would, too, need to find a deserving pupil to transmit the Way before their own death was to occur.
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 Bashumitsu, The Seventh Ancestor
“Bashumitsu placed his wine cup before Mishaka, prostrated himself and then arose whereupon Mishaka asked him, ‘Is this VESSEL yours or mine?’ Whilst Bahumitsu was reflecting on this, Mishaka said, ‘If you consider the cup to be mine, it is your Original Nature; if, on the other hand, the vessel is yours, it is fitting that you receive my Teaching.’ Upon hearing this Bashumitsu awoke to his UNBORN ORIGINAL NATURE.” The Denkoroku: The Record of the Transmission of Light.
Bashumitsu’s name means ‘He Who is an Excellent Friend.’ He was from Northern India and a member of the Harada (‘Those as Swift as a Skylark’) clan. Known for fancy dressing, he was always singing and whistling as he walked about through towns and villages dressed to the nines. Bashumitsu carried his wine cup with him everywhere to utilize in his own transmission of the teaching to others of the Way.
“He is like the bell at the break of an August morning
which, being struck, reverberates and echoes forth
On such a ‘Festival for the Dead’ as this,
who needs an empty wine cup?”
Keizan Zenji summarizes the teaching of Bashumitsu
Sources: The Denkoroku: The Record of the Transmission of Light – Keizan Zenji, Shasta Abbey Buddhist Monastery
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