Koun Ejō

Koun Ejō (孤雲懐奘, 1198–1280) was initially a disciple of the short-lived Darumashū sect of Japanese Zen under Nōnin, but later studied and received dharma transmission under Dōgen and is considered his spiritual successor by the Sōtō school. His transmission is the final koan chronicled in the Denkoroku. He is also the author of the Shōbōgenzō Zuimonki (正法眼蔵随聞記, "Records of things heard [pertaining to] the Treasury of the True Dharma Eye"), a collection of informal talks by Dōgen which Ejō recorded throughout his discipleship. After Dōgen died, Ejō struggled to maintain leadership of the new Eiheiji monastery, due in part to his lack of training in China that prevented him from completing the temple as a Chinese-style meditation hall, as well as unfamiliarity with Chinese-style monastic practices.

He gave dharma transmission to Jakuen, Gikai, Gien and Giin, but did not resolve power disputes among them, leading to the sandai sōron that temporarily split the community.

References

• Bodiford, William M. (2008). Soto Zen in Medieval Japan (Studies in East Asian Buddhism). University of Hawaii Press. pp. 22–36. ISBN 0824833031. 
• "Shobogenzo Zuimonki SOTOZEN-NET". http://global.sotozen-net.or.jp/common_html/zuimonki/. Retrieved 2009-11-13. 

Buddhist titles
Preceded by Dōgen	Sōtō Zen patriarch 1253–1280	Succeeded by Tettsu Gikai