Zen in Ten: "He of the Light"
All About Eka, the Second Zen Ancestor (487-593)
For a long time, Taiso Eka’s father prayed for a child. One day he saw a light emanating from his bedroom and soon after his wife became pregnant. As a boy, Eka was called Ko, which means “He of the light” or “The Radiant One.”
Eka took the precepts under Meditation Master Hojo, “He Who Treasures Quietude.” He spent eight years meditating during which time a deva visited him and said, “You are on the verge of receiving the effects of your training, why tarry here? Supreme Enlightenment is not far off; go to the South.”
After this premonition, Eka changed his name to Shinko: “He of the Divine Light.” His teacher interpreted the deva’s words as encouraging Eka to seek out Bodhidharma in Shorin-ji, which he did, arriving in the final month of 528 C.E.
According to the legend, Bodhidharma would not permit Shinko to enter the temple and be his disciple, so Shinko stood outside all night in the bitter snow. The next morning, after Bodhidharma still refused him, Shinko cut off his left arm up to the elbow to demonstrate his unflagging determination to study The Way and be a Bodhisattva.
Bodhidharma changed Shinko’s name to Eka (C. Hui-k’o), which means “He with the Capacity for Wisdom” and finally permitted Eka to enter Shorin-ji as his first disciple.
Eka studied with his teacher for between four and eight years. Bodhidharma told Eka, “Outwardly, sever all karmic ties; within your mind, do not pant after things. When your mind is like a wall you will be able to enter the Way.”
When Bodhidharma transmitted the Kesa and Teaching to Eka, he said, “Inwardly, transmit the Dharma-seal by which the validity of enlightenment is realized within the heart; outwardly, pass on the Kesa by which authenticity of our line is established.”
It appears that Eka was a wandering teacher who drew large crowds during the 30 years he expounded the Dharma. He’d often change his appearance and enter wine shops and butcher shops and listen to local gossip. He also mingled with household servants and the outhouse cleaners. When people questioned him about his behavior, he replied: “What I am doing is scrutinizing Original Nature but how does this concern you?”
Keizan Jokin said that Eka “ranks as one esteemed among the esteemed, [one] revered among the revered” because “it would have been difficult for our lineage to come down to us today had Eka not passed on the Transmission.” Kanchi Sosan was Eka’s Dharma heir and the Third Zen Ancestor.
One of Eka’s verses: “Originally deluded, one calls the mani-pearl a potsherd
Suddenly one is awakened—and it is [recognized] as a pearl
Ignorance and wisdom are identical, not different.”
Sources:
Zen Master Keizan Jokin. The Denkoroku. Shasta Abbey Press, Mount Shasta, CA. 2001.
Ferguson, Andy. Zen’s Chinese Heritage. Somerville, MA, Wisdom Publications, 2011.