Ikkyū
From Wikiquote
Ikkyu (一休宗純 Ikkyū Sōjun) (1394–1481) was an eccentric, iconoclastic Japanese Zen Buddhist priest, poet and calligrapher. He was born as an illegitimate son of Emperor Go-Komatsu and was forced to become a priest in his childhood. He was one of the influential figures in establishing the Japanese tea ceremony.
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- Having no destination, I am never lost.
- As quoted in Nine-headed Dragon River : Zen journals, 1969-1985 (1986) by Peter Matthiessen
- Natural, reckless, correct skill;
Yesterday's clarity is today's stupidity
The universe has dark and light, entrust oneself to change
One time, shade the eyes and gaze afar at the road of heaven.- As quoted in Ikkyū and The Crazy Cloud Anthology : A Zen Poet of Medieval Japan (1986) by Sonja Arntzen
- Studying texts and stiff meditation can make you lose your Original Mind.
A solitary tune by a fisherman, though, can be an invaluable treasure.
Dusk rain on the river, the moon peeking in and out of the clouds;
Elegant beyond words, he chants his songs night after night.- "A Fisherman" in Wild Ways : Zen Poems (2003), edited and translated by John Stevens, p. 37
- From the world of passions returning to the world of passions:
There is a moment's pause.
If it rains, let it rain, if the wind blows, let it blow.- As quoted in The Essence of Zen : Zen Buddhism for Every Day and Every Moment (2002) by Mark Levon Byrne, p. 28
- It has the original mouth but remains wordless;
It is surrounded by a magnificent mound of hair.
Sentient beings can get completely lost in it
But it is also the birthplace of all the Buddhas of the ten thousand worlds.- "A Woman's Sex" in Wild Ways : Zen Poems (2003), edited and translated by John Stevens, p. 74
- Eight inches strong, it is my favourite thing;
If I'm alone at night, I embrace it fully -
A beautiful woman hasn't touched it for ages.
Within my fundoshi there is an entire universe!- "A Man's Root" as quoted in Mishima's Sword : Travels in Search of a Samurai Legend (2007) by Christopher Ross, p. 195
Quotes about Ikkyu [edit]
- Ikkyū Zenji is the most remarkable monk in the history of Japanese Buddhism, the only Japanese comparable to the great Chinese Zen masters.
- Reginald Horace Blyth, in Zen and Zen Classics : Twenty-five Zen Essays (1970)
- His "mad" behavior was perhaps his way of disrupting the corrupt and feeble Zen he saw around him.
- Peter Matthiessen, in Nine-headed Dragon River : Zen journals, 1969-1985 (1986)
