Koun Ejo
Koun Ejo
1198 – 1280
Koun Ejo was Dogen's first dharma successor and the second abbot of Eiheiji, the temple that remains the head training monastery of the Soto school to this day. He had previously studied with Kakuan, a Daruma school teacher, before meeting Dogen, under whom his understanding deepened decisively. His devotion to Dogen and his careful stewardship of the community after Dogen's death ensured the survival of the Soto school during its most vulnerable early years.
Ejo compiled the Shobogenzo Zuimonki, a collection of Dogen's informal talks that remains one of the most accessible introductions to Dogen's thought. His own teaching was characterized by a deep humility and a wholehearted commitment to the practice of zazen as Dogen had taught it. The transition from Dogen's charismatic founding to Ejo's quiet continuation established the pattern of institutional stability that would sustain the Soto school through the centuries.
Teachings
- sermonDogen's Teaching on Impermanence (Recorded by Ejo)
The most important thing in studying the Way is to be aware of impermanence. This is not merely an idea to be understood with the intellect. It must be felt in the very marrow of your bones. Life and death is the great matter. Time does not wait. Do not waste a single moment. Once you have genuinely felt the swiftness of impermanence, you will not spend your time on trivial things. You will not care about fame or profit. You will practice as if your hair were on fire. This urgency is itself the beginning of the Way.
- sayingOn Wholehearted Devotion to Practice
In following the Way of the ancestors, the most essential thing is single-minded devotion to practice. Do not practice half-heartedly. Do not keep one foot in the world and one foot in the monastery. When you sit, sit with your entire being. When you serve your teacher, serve with your entire being. If you hold anything back, your practice becomes lukewarm and the Way remains distant. Cast away all other concerns and devote yourself wholly—this is the meaning of leaving home.
Master Record Sources
1198-1280
Koun Ejo
Soto
Dogen (Shakyamuni Buddha and the Two Founders)