Koho Kakumyo
Koho Kakumyo
1271 – 1361
Kōhō Kakumyō (孤峰覚明, 1271–1361) is one of the most cross-affiliated figures in early-medieval Japanese Zen. He first received Dharma transmission within Shinchi Kakushin's Hottō line, then travelled to Yuan-dynasty China around 1311 and studied under the major Yangqi-line Linji master Zhongfeng Mingben on Mount Tianmu, returning to Japan with that additional transmission as well[1]. On his return he is also documented as having spent time in the early Sōtō community around Keizan Jōkin — leaving him with formal ties to three distinct Zen lineages, an unusual situation in an age that increasingly hardened sectarian boundaries[2].
Kōhō became known as a demanding teacher who continued the koan-centred severity of his Chinese training in spite of the increasingly literary and patronage-oriented Gozan establishment around him. His best-known student is the recluse Bassui Tokushō, whose awakening he confirmed and whose own line through Bassui's heirs became one of the more austere streams of medieval Rinzai practice[3].
Names
Disciples of Koho Kakumyo
Teachers and lineage of Koho Kakumyo
Teacher / root master:
Teachings
- dialogueOn Holding Three Transmissions
A monk asked: 'You received transmission in three lines — Hottō, Zhongfeng's Chinese Yangqi, and Keizan's Sōtō. Which do you teach?' Kōhō said: 'When it rains, you do not ask which cloud the water came from. You open your mouth.' Monk: 'But which lineage do you formally hold?' Kōhō: 'The one that does not need a name. If you need a name, go to the registry office. If you want the teaching, sit down and close your eyes.'
- dialogueConfirming Bassui's Awakening
When the young Bassui Tokushō came to Kōhō and spoke of the doubt that had consumed him for years — the great doubt about the master of seeing and hearing — Kōhō pressed him with a series of questions. Bassui answered each without hesitation. At the end Kōhō said: 'What you have found cannot be taken from you. But do not mistake the finding for the end. What you have now is a clear eye. You still need to grow the feet to walk with it. Go. Walk with it. Come back when the feet are tired.' Bassui bowed and left without another word.
Other masters in Rinzai
Master Record Sources
- datesZen Editorial Overlay - Originals Curation
1271-1361
- nameZen Editorial Overlay - Originals Curation
Koho Kakumyo
- schoolZen Editorial Overlay - Originals Curation
Rinzai
- teachersZen Editorial Overlay - Originals Curation
Shinchi Kakushin