dialogue

On Holding Three Transmissions

Kōhō Kakumyō's Dharma Hall Talks

Nanbokuchō Period Japan

Traditionally attributed

Text

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.'

license: public_domain

Attribution

Lineage: Rinzai

By Koho Kakumyo

From Kōhō Kakumyō's Dharma Hall Talks

Sources

  • Heinrich Dumoulin (trans. James W. Heisig & Paul Knitter)

    Cf. Dumoulin, Zen Buddhism: A History, Vol. 2, pp. 112–114; Kōhō's dharma hall records

    Kōhō Kakumyō's Dharma Hall Talks: On Holding Three Transmissions