Denkōroku

Background on the Denkōroku (傳光録)

The Record of the Transmission of the Light, or The Record of the Transmission of Illumination were originally a series of lectures given by Keizan Jokin Zenji (1264 – 1625) in 1300 A.D. Keizan Jokin Zenji was a student of Tettsu Gikai, who was a student of Koun Ejo, who studied with Eihei Dogen. Where Dogen is considered the patriarch of Zen, Keizan has been referred to as the matriarch. We can really taste the flavor of Eihei Dogen’s poetic prose in Keizan’s writing of the Zen lineage.

Authenticity

The authenticity of the lineage was explored by several scholars with scrutiny as sources believe he consulted a rare woodblock printed copy of a Chinese text that can not be verified. Keizan presented each successor with a koan and his teisho, delivered during a long retreat at Daijo-Ji monastery in modern-day Ishikawa Prefecture. These Dharma Talks were later scribed by an acolyte of Keizan. Francis Dojun Cook writes that we read these accounts as the genuine truth, perhaps not a historical one. We can consider each koan to be a guiding story of the enlightenment of each teacher, passed in succession.