The Kenshō jōbutsu-ron 見性成佛論or The Treatise on Seeing One's Natureand Attaining Buddhahood is an early Japanese Zen text, the name of whose author has not been transmitted and whose precise scholastic affiliation has not been established so far. It is written in the form of a dialogue, and the replies given by the so-called ʻanswererʼ appear to encapsulate the authorʼs viewpoints. My analysis of the text has led me to the following conclusions: (1) Doctrinally, its title notwithstanding, the Kenshō jōbutsu-ron stresses ʻthe separate transmission [of the essence of Awakening] outside of the Teachings [recorded in the scriptures]ʼ (kyōge betuden 教外別傳), which appears to represent a distinct lineage within the Zen tradition. (2) The author/answerer of the Kenshō jōbutsu-ron often cites the Zongjing lu 宗鏡録, albeit in a rather non-systematic way. (3) The author/answerer of the Kenshō jōbutsu-ron emphasizes the practice of seated meditation (zazen 坐禪). In this paper, I argue that the doctrines of the author/answerer of the Kenshō jōbutsu-ron are very similar to the views of the so-called ʻZen discipleʼ (zenmon no hito禪門の人) portrayed in the Kenmitsu mondō-shō, a text composed by Raiyu 頼瑜(1226衾1304). The latter source seems to conceive the word ʻZen discipleʼ as a person espousing a form of Zen spirituality without necessarily belonging to the Zen monastic establishment. My investigation of the two texts has revealed two new details: Firstly, the ʻZen discipleʼ presented in the Kenmitsu mondō-shō similarly stresses ʻthe separate transmission [of the essence of Awakening] outside of the Teachings [recorded in the scriptures]ʼ, which is precisely the main theme of the Kenshō jōbutsu-ron. Furthermore, we know from a text recording the oral teachings of Nichiren 日蓮(1222衾 1282) that the Zen variety advocated by Dainichi-bō Nōninʼs 大日房能忍is said to have focused upon the same motif of the ʻseparate transmission [of the essence of Awakening] outside of the Teachings [recorded in the scriptures]ʼ. Secondly, the Kenmitsu mondō-shō cites at least two sentences from the Kenshō jōbutsu-ron. One is a peculiar expression which appears to summarize the teachings expounded in a few chapters of the Zongjing lu. The other is a sentence citing the words of a Korean monk called ʻGuhō Daishiʼ 弘法大師(early 10th century). Raiyu, however, misunderstands the name of the Korean monk as referring to the famous Kūkai 空海(774−835). It thus becomes quite clear that the ʻZen discipleʼ in the Kenmitsu mondō-shō can be identified as the author/answerer of the Kenshō jōbutsuron. Moreover, it is very likely that this author/answerer is no other than Dainichi-bō Nōnin since the Master appears to be the only Zen proponent in the epoch to have placed so much emphasis on ʻthe separate transmission [of the essence of Awakening] outside of the Teachings [recorded in the scriptures]ʼ.
