Nishiyama, K.

Kosen Nishiyama

Kosen Nishiyama Roshi is Zen master, teacher and priest, as well as abbot (31st Patriarch) of the Daimanji Temple, a large temple in the northern Japanese metropolis of Sendai with approx. 450 active members. He is also a professor of Buddhology and English at Tohoku Fukushi University. Nishiyama Roshi was born in Sendai in 1939. He received his instruction in Zen in the main monastery of the Japanese Soto School of Zen, the Sojiji Temple in Yokohama. In 1975 his translation of Dogen Zenji's Shobogenzo was published in English. Nishiyama Roshi also translated Keizan Jokin's Denkoroku into English (published 1994). The German translations of parts of Shobogenzo in Theseus and Angkorverlag are based on these translations. (Source Accessed June 29, 2021)

Library Items

Book

The Record of Transmission of Light

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[T]he work [Denkōroku] [was] written by Keizan Jokin during the late 13th and early 14th centuries. Keizan began this book with Shakyamuni Buddha as the leading chapter. Denkoroku is a collection of stories about 53 Patriarchs from India, China and Japan and illustrates the enlightenment of each Patriarch – known as the Zen Enlightenment, or Transmission of Light.

Each chapter is started with the Leading Case (本則, Honsoku), Background (機縁, Kien), Dharma Discourse (提拮, Nentei), and Verse (古頌, Juko). When Keizan mentioned each Patriarch he began with the most important point. First, the key tenet as Leading Case (Honsoku). Next, he indicated the background (Kien) of each Patriarch. Some backgrounds are minutely detailed while others are brief and sparse. After a discussion about background, Keizan presented a lengthy interpretation about the Patriarch as Dharma Discourse (Nentei). He followed with his own Verse (Juko) as a short conclusion.

Short stories of each Patriarch are given in this manner so it is easy to follow the accomplishment of each Patriarchs life. Honsoku as Leading Case is the area which indicates the Enlightenment and level of transmission of the Patriarch, while Kien as Background describes the process by which the Patriarch is enabled to practice the transmission. Nentei as Dharma Discourse clarifies the Enlightenment of the Patriarch. Here Keizan teaches the students various interpretations of the Dharma. Finally, Juko (Verse) expresses the spirit of the chapter. Though not necessarily connected with the surface meaning of the chapter, it does express the essence and the conclusion. By making use of the Leading case, background, and dharma discourse, Keizan demonstrates the spiritual tenets which lead to the actual stage of being a Patriarch. In other words, it portrays the Way of Enlightenment. (Nishiyama, introduction, 3–4)

Nishiyama, Kosen, trans. The Record of Transmission of Light: Denkōroku. By Zen Master Keizan Jokin. Tokyo: Japan Publication, 1994.

Nishiyama, Kosen, trans. The Record of Transmission of Light: Denkōroku. By Zen Master Keizan Jokin. Tokyo: Japan Publication, 1994.;The Record of Transmission of Light;Zen - Chan;The doctrine of buddha-nature in Japanese Buddhism;Keizan Jōkin;Taiso Jōsai Daishi; ;;;;;;The Record of Transmission of Light: Denkōroku;Keizan

Affiliations & relations

• Soto Zen · religious affiliation