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Hōkyō-ki
Hokyoki.jpg
Dōgen’s personal journal documenting his private conversations with Nyojō in Song Dynasty China.

Hōkyō-ki

Text and Additional Reading Materials
New English translation by Rev. Issan Koyama and new French translation by Shūzan Leclercq of Daishin-ji.

​​The Long Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Digha Nikaya.

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​Translated by Maurice Walshe​

Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra: A Translation of  Dharmakshema's Northern Version 

Translated by Kosho Yamamoto

These lectures are recordings of a Lecture Series offered by Rev. Issan Koyama. All materials may be accessed free of charge. Please do not use any written or audio-visual materials for commercial purposes. For permission to use these resources for educational purposes, kindly contact us in writing at: infor@nyzcfordogenstudy.org.

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© 2026  New York Zen Community for Dōgen Study

Hōkyō-ki

• If we are all originally buddhas, why is practice and study necessary?

• Is there a special teaching transmitted outside of the scriptures?

• Are all sūtras trustworthy and authentic?

• Why do some teachers respond to students’ questions by shouting or hitting them?

• What is shinjin datsuraku (casting off body and mind)?

• What pitfalls should we avoid as we practice the Way?

• What are the differences between Mokushō (Silent Illumination) Zen and Kanna Zen which uses kōans to precipitate kensho and enlightenment?

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           In 1223, when Dōgen was only 23 years old, he undertook a hazardous voyage to Song dynasty China in search of a teacher capable of answering these and other urgent questions he had about Buddhist teachings and practice.

            At that time, many new schools of Buddhism were emerging with very different views and practices in both China and Japan. Dissatisfied with the teachers he had encountered as a young monk in Japan, Dōgen was determined to find a teacher who was expounding the authentic Dharma taught by the Buddha.

            After traveling from temple to temple for two years, he was on the verge of abandoning his search and returning to Japan when he finally met the right teacher, Nyojō Zenji, the newly appointed abbot of Tendō-zan. Anyone who has searched long and hard for a trustworthy teacher can understand the joy and relief Dōgen must have felt. In turn, Nyojō’s appreciation of Dōgen’s sincerity and dedication moved him to respond to his questions with deep, penetrating answers.

            Hōkyō-ki is the personal journal Dōgen kept while studying with Nyojō. In it, he recorded their many dialogues as they explored the most pressing questions being debated regarding Buddhist dharma and practice in their time.

             Beyond offering valuable insights into the origins of Dōgen’s teachings, Hōkyō-ki remains significant because the questions he and Nyojō examined are still hotly debated today. They go to the very core of what it means to practice authentic Buddhism and clarify which popular teachings deviated from the Buddha’s original understanding.

            By virtue of the extraordinary breadth of knowledge shared by Nyojō and Dōgen, Hōkyō-ki draws on stories and teachings from every preceding era of Buddhist thought. Taking the time to delve into these sūtras, kōans, anecdotes and related materials, deepens and enhances our understanding and enjoyment of this remarkable text.

            Before examining Hōkyō-ki itself, Rev. Koyama sets the scene by examining well-known passages from the Pāli Mahāparinibbāna Sutta and the Mahāyāna Nirvāṇa Sūtra in which King Ajātaśatru seeks relief from the anguish and guilt that is consuming him for having murdered his father. Ajātaśatru visits six popular teachers whose teachings diverge from the Buddha’s in subtle but significant ways, but fails to find peace. Guided by Jīvaka, Ajātaśatru finally agrees to meet with Gotama Buddha himself and finds complete relief from his torment.

             In this way, Rev. Koyama carefully examines divergent understandings of ātman and anātman, the nature of karma and causality, space and time, liberation and nirvāṇa, reincarnation and deathlessness, śūnyatā and substantialism, Buddha-Nature and interdependent origination.

             For this lecture series, Rev. Koyama presents a completely new English translation and, in collaboration with Françoise Shūzan Leclercq of Daishin-j, the first French translation of Hōkyō-ki, along with the original Japan text.

Lectures

This introduction situates Hōkyō-ki within the complex Buddhist landscape of Dōgen’s time, when diverging schools of Buddhism -- each with distinct understandings of dharma and practice -- coexisted, debated, and often contradicted one another.

A careful review of Gotama Buddha's most fundamental teachings.
This lecture introduces Rev. Koyama’s examination of six non-Buddhist teachers who were contemporaries of the Buddha. Through the story of King Ajātaśatru seeking relief from the remorse of killing his father, the next six lectures will explore how their teachings diverged from those of Gotama Buddha, with passages from the Sāmaññaphala Sutta (Chpt. 2 of Dīgha Nikāya) and Chapter 24 of the Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra.
The teachings of Pūrana Kāśyapa.
The teachings of Sañjaya Belatthaputta. The teachings of Ajita Keśakambala and the famous story of King Vidūdabha of Kosala. The teachings of Nigantha Nātaputta, founder of Jainism.
The teachings of Pakudha Kaccāyana and Makkahali Gosāla.
Summarizing the major deviations from Buddha’s teaching examined in previous lectures with a focus on how and why they became so popular.
In this final introductory lecture, Rev. Koyama discusses the teachings of the Sarvāstivādin School, the Mahāsāmghika School, the concept of Tathāgata-garbha, the Ratnagotravibhāga Sutra and the origins and meaning of Buddha-Nature.
A brief chronology of Dōgen Zenji's life and the state of Buddhism in Japan at that time.
Continuing the chronology of Dōgen Zenji's life, the most influential Buddhist schools in Japan at the time, and young Dōgen's burning question about hongaku shisō (the doctrine of original enlightenment).
Continuing the chronology of Dōgen Zenji's life up to his first meeting with his true teacher, Nyojō, abbot of Tendō-zan, in Song China.
Section 1 of Hōkyō-ki: Dōgen's letter of introduction to Nyojō and the meaning and importance of "Buddha, Dharma, Sangha" as used by Dōgen in this letter and later in Kyō jukai mon.
In Section 1, Dōgen mentions visiting Master Yōsai (Senkō Zenji) and encountering Zen teachings. After an overview of Yōsai's life and influence, Rev. Koyama examines the entanglement of Sōtō and Rinzai Zen.
Concluding a brief overview of Yōsai's [Senkō] life and accomplishments with readings from Dōgen's Shōbōgenzō Zuimonki and Eihei Kōroku in which he quotes and praises him.
A chronology of Myōzen Zenji's life and the history of Buddhism in Japan.
After reading Dōgen's poem praising Myōzen, [Eihei Kōroku vol. 10, sect. 5], Rev. Koyama introduces the text of Hōkyō-ki beginning with Dōgen's letter to Nyojō.
Digging into Dōgen's letter to Nyojō, Rev. Koyama carefully examines the words and phrases Dōgen employs to address Nyojō and ask for permission to visit him informally to ask about Dharma.
Rev. Koyama discusses the Student-Teacher relationship with readings from Eihei Shingi and then dives into Dōgen's first question to Nyojō about the controversial "Teachings Transmitted Outside of the Scriptures".
Who was Bodhidharma and what is the meaning of "Bodhidharma coming from the West?"
Is there a special teaching transmitted outside of the scriptures? Why do some teachers refuse to answer' questions and instead gesture or shout or hit students who ask about Dharma?
Looking deeply into Dōgen's question about teachers who refuse to answer questions verbally, with readings from the Lotus Sutra and Shoyoroku (Book of Serenity).
The mistaken view (dan ken gedo) that denies causality and the meaning and importance of skillful means (hōben).
Is it true that we are all buddhas from birth? Can a person know whether or not they are enlightened? Readings from Menzan Zuihō's commentary on Hōkyō-ki and Okumura Shohaku's Realizing Genjokōan.
Is there anything wrong with thinking that I can use my cognition to apprehend objective reality and know whether or not I am enlightened?
If knowing that the self is buddha is the attainment of the Way, why did Shakyamuni teach and practice? Readings from Bendōwa about Hōgen and a disciple who believed he was enlightened. The meaning of "identity and appropriation" in Buddhism.
Introduction to Nyojō's 35 Points to Watch when engaging in the wholehearted practice of the Way and how these Points offer us a glimpse of life in the large monasteries of Song China.
How Nyojō's first five points correspond to the Maka Shikan of the Tendai School. A detailed look at the origins, meaning and significance of Points 1 - 7.
A detailed examination of the origins, meanings and significance of Points 8 - 10 with readings from Shōbōgenzō Zuimonki, Dōgen's Kyō jukai mon and Nagarjuna's Daichido-Ron.
A reading from Sutta-Nipāta on vegetarianism. A detailed look at the origins, meaning and significance of Points 11 - 17 with readings from the Mahāparinibbāna Sutta, and Shōbōgenzō Zuimonki.
Continuing to read Nyojō's "points to watch" when practicing the Way; why a desire for fame and profit is incompatible with Buddhist practice.
Continuing to read Nyojō's "points to watch" when practicing the Way - why it's best to avoid luxury, coarse distractions and food obtained by wrong livelihood.
Nyojō's advice for those practicing the Way. Avoid cheap thrills and illuminate the mind with authentic Buddhist scriptures and nature. Shōyōroku Case 31: Unmon's Exposed Pillars.
Nyojō's advice on what to do when perturbed and muddled. Who was Ryūzen? Readings from Shōbōgenzō Zuimonki and Shisho.
Nyojō advises Dōgen to stay away from "petty little people" (shōjin). Dōgen asks "who are petty little people"?  With a reading from Shōbōgenzō Hachi dainin gaku (Eight Traits of Great People).
Nyojō's final point to watch: "Do not raise young tigers or elephants or other animals as pets." Why did some abbots in Song China raise tigers and elephants? What can happen when animals are brought into monasteries?
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