禅Masters

Jakuen

Jakuen — portrait unavailable

Sōtō

Jakuen

1207 – 1299

Lineage of JakuenSōtō school

Jakuen (寂円, 1207–1299), also rendered Jiyuan in Chinese sources, was a Chinese-born Sōtō master and a fellow disciple of Dōgen under Tiantong Rujing at the Tiantong-shan monastery in Southern Song China[1]. He travelled to Japan after Rujing's 1228 death and served as caretaker of Rujing's jōyōden memorial hall at Eihei-ji under Dōgen and then Koun Ejō; the formal Dharma transmission he received in Japan came from Ejō rather than directly from Dōgen. He left Eihei-ji in 1261 during the *sandai sōron* dispute and was given the temple Hōkyō-ji in Echizen by Hatano Tomanari in 1278, modelled on Tiantong-shan[1][2].

Jakuen's lineage is a distinct parallel stream in early Japanese Sōtō: his Dharma heir Giun (1253–1333) became the 5th abbot of Eihei-ji from 1314, and Jakuen's line — not Keizan's — actually controlled Eihei-ji from 1314 until 1468, when the Keizan branch took ownership[2]. Hōkyō-ji remains a parallel Sōtō sub-line, officially in communion with the modern Sōtōshū but historically regarding Jakuen rather than Keizan as its founding patriarch.

Names

dharma · enJakuen
dharma · ja寂円
alias · enJiyuan

Teachers and lineage of Jakuen

Teacher / root master:

  • Tiantong RujingDisciple of Tiantong Rujing in parallel with Dōgen — Jakuen and Dōgen are fellow disciples, not in a teacher-student relationship. Formal Japanese Dharma transmission was received later from Koun Ejō (recorded as a secondary edge below); the canonical lineage line in early Sōtō runs Rujing → Jakuen rather than through Dōgen. · 1163 – 1228

Formal Dharma transmission (shihō):

  • Koun EjōFormal Dharma transmission in Japan from Koun Ejō at Eihei-ji after Dōgen's death. The Rujing edge is the lineage-source; this is the institutional Japanese-Sōtō shihō. · 1198 – 1280

Full lineage of Jakuen →

Teachings

  • sayingZazen Is the Dharma of All Buddhas

    (traditional attribution)

    When a monk asked Jakuen what teaching he had received from Rujing at Tiantong-shan, Jakuen said: 'The great master Rujing said: zazen is the dharma of all buddhas. It is not a method, not a technique, not a stage on a path. When you sit, all dharmas sit with you. When you arise, nothing has moved. This I received, and this I give.' Monk: 'Is there anything beyond sitting?' Jakuen: 'Try standing up without moving.'

    Jakuen

  • dialogueTwo Streams, One Source

    (traditional attribution)

    A monk from Eihei-ji came to Hōkyō-ji and said: 'They say your transmission comes through Ejō, not through Dōgen directly. Is your Dharma therefore lesser?' Jakuen held up his robe and said: 'Look. Rujing sewed this cloth. Does it matter which needle he used?' The monk was silent. Jakuen said: 'At Tiantong-shan, Dōgen and I sat side by side on the same platform. The snow fell the same on both our heads. Why do you now ask which snow is higher?'

    Jakuen

  • verseDeath Verse of Jakuen

    (traditional attribution)

    Ninety-three years — what a long dream. Now I drop the robe of Tiantong-shan. Rujing is there already; I do not need to hurry.

    Jakuen

Other masters in Sōtō

Master Record Sources

  • birth datehigh — multiple authoritative sources
  • death datehigh — multiple authoritative sources
  • schoolmedium — one authoritative source

2 supporting citations on record (see Sources above).

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