This paper examines Kokan Shiren’s 虎関師錬 （1278-1346） view of practice 修 and enlightenment 証 by investigating the Shōshū-ron 正修論 and his “discourse records” 語録.
Shiren’s understanding of enlightenment is largely based on the Awakening of Faith in the Mahāyāna 大乗起信論, and he emphasizes the necessity of the continuous practice of “calming distracting thoughts through quiet sitting” 息慮静坐 as an “effort” （jpn. kufū; chn. gōngfū 工夫） to attain enlightenment. Furthermore, Shiren adopts the method of kanhua 看 話, developed by Dahui Zonggao 大慧宗杲 （1089-1163）, but at the same time he actively recommends the constant practice of quiet sitting, which helps in releasing karma. While Dahui advocates seeking the “unity of movement and stillness” 動静一如 through “effort” and criticizes the bias toward “stillness” （i.e., quiet sitting）, Shiren rejects these arguments and uses the phrase positively, which Dahui criticized as expressing the state of silent illumination Chan 黙照禅, as the enlightened state 悟境. Therefore, Shiren did not completely accept Dahui’s ideas in his theory of practice and enlightenment.
