Kumarata
Kumarata
4th c. – Unknown
Kumārata (Sanskrit *Kumāralāta*), nineteenth patriarch in the Chan list, may correspond to the historically attested Kumāralāta, founder of the Sautrāntika school of abhidharma in the third or fourth century CE and author of the *Dṛṣṭāntapaṅkti* (Garland of Examples), a Sanskrit collection of edifying narratives[1]. The Sautrāntika Kumāralāta is one of the more substantively documented figures of post-Sarvāstivādin Indian scholasticism.
Whether the Chan tradition's nineteenth patriarch is meant to be this same figure or a different teacher of similar name is unresolved. Dumoulin treats the identification as plausible but not demonstrable, noting that the *Jǐngdé Chuándēng Lù* gives no detail that would securely tie Kumārata to the Sautrāntika master[2]. The Chan account names him as the disciple of Saṃghayaśas and teacher of Jayata.
Names
Disciples of Kumarata
Teachers and lineage of Kumarata
Teacher / root master:
Teachings
Kumārata was known for teaching through narrative examples rather than abstract doctrine. He said: 'The people who come to me are not philosophers. They are farmers and merchants, mothers and soldiers. A story enters the heart where an argument cannot. I am not betraying the Dharma by telling stories—I am finding its shortest road.' Keizan's verse: The master opens his mouth / and a thousand worlds appear. / Which word is the Dharma? / All of them. None of them.
- dialogueRecognizing the Successor
When Kumārata arrived in northern India, he saw an auspicious radiance rising from a certain household. He inquired and was told that a man of great virtue named Jayata lived there. Kumārata knocked at the gate. Jayata came out and said: 'What does the elder seek?' Kumārata said: 'Not what I am seeking—what is seeking me.' Jayata bowed and opened the gate.
Other masters in Indian Patriarchs
Master Record Sources
- datesZen Editorial Overlay - Originals Curation
trad. 4th c. CE
- nameZen Editorial Overlay - Originals Curation
Kumarata
- schoolZen Editorial Overlay - Originals Curation
Indian Patriarchs
- teachersZen Editorial Overlay - Originals Curation
Gayashata
Kumārata is counted the twentieth Indian patriarch; the Tibetan Buddhist Encyclopedia records his role in the chain of transmission between Gayāśāta and Jayata in the Indian patriarchal lineage.