But of course that could be because he puts all his energy into protecting Kouryuu rather than saving himself.

And according to the one of the recent flashbacks (I can't remember where, in Burial or after it though), it seems Koumyou sealed Kouryuu's movement (to keep Kouryuu from trying to fight?) -- why not seal the movement of the youkai attacking him? There's definitely something strange going on there with how Koumyou chose to react. And I really need to go back and reread things.

I posted more thoughts on sanzos and sutras in my journal here (http://www.livejournal.com/users/kintail/27011.html).