Record of the Transmission of Illumination

The first book of this two-volume set consists largely of an annotated translation of the Record of the Transmission of Illumination (Denkōroku) by Zen Master Keizan Jōkin (1264–1325), presented together with the original Japanese text on which the English translation is based. That text is the recension of the Denkōroku published in Shūten Hensan Iinkai, ed., Taiso Keizan Zenji senjutsu Denkōroku (Tokyo: Sōtōshū Shūmuchō, 2005). The Shūmuchō edition of the Denkōroku includes some items of Front Matter from earlier published editions, which are included in the English translations. Volume 1 also contains an Introduction that addresses such matters as the life of Keizan, the contents of the Denkōroku, the provenance of that work, and the textual history of its various recensions. In addition, Volume 1 includes a Bibliography that lists many works of modern Japanese- and English-language scholarship that are relevant to the academic study of the Denkōroku.

The second volume contains a Glossary in two parts. Part One explains all of the Buddhist technical terms and Zen sayings that appear in the annotated translation of the Shūmuchō edition of the Denkōroku, found in Volume 1. Part Two treats all of the people, places, and texts that are named in that annotated translation. The Glossary also contains a wealth of material pertaining to the study of Chinese Chan, Japanese Zen, and East Asian Buddhist traditions at large, providing a broader historical context for understanding Keizan’s Denkōroku.

Published in association with Sōtōshū Shūmuchō, Tokyo.