"Abiding Nowhere, the Awakened Mind Arises”
Musō Soseki Japanese
These eight Chinese characters, brushed by Musō Soseki in a striking cursive script, convey a fundamental Zen message: that awakening can be achieved by transcending all aspects of the material, transitory world. Musō was one of the most influential monks in the early history of Japanese Zen. He did not travel to China, as many of his predecessors had, but rather studied under the émigré master Yishan Yining (Issan Ichinei, 1247–1317) and a number of leading Japanese monks who had been to the mainland. Musō was based in Kamakura until 1333, when he moved to Kyoto on an invitation from the emperor. He spent the rest of his life there.
The poem, by the courtier-poet Ki no Mochiyuki, reads:
花よりも 人こそあたに なりにけれ
いづ[れ]をさきに こひむとかみし
Even more so than cherry blossoms,
a loved one’s life is transient.
Alas, never did I expect
to muse over which of them
I would have to mourn first.
—Trans. John T. Carpenter
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