Kegon thought would later be popularized by Myōe (明惠), who combined its doctrines with those of Vajrayana and Gyōnen (凝然), and is most responsible for the establishment of the Tōdai-ji lineage of Kegon.
Born into the Yuasa family (湯浅), allegedly descended from a branch of the Fujiwara clan, he came to be ordained in both the Shingon school of Buddhism and the Kegon school.
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In the latter half of his career he served as abbot of Kōzan-ji (高山寺), a temple of the Kegon sect located near Kyoto.
Kōben sculpted notable statues of Tentōki and Ryūtōki, each considered a National Treasure of Japan, carrying lanterns as offering to the Historical Buddha at Kōfuku-ji in Nara.