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Sacred Verse (Gāthā) from the Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment (Engaku-kyō)

ca. 1380s–1405
Not on view
Inscribed by Zekkai Chūshin, these two columns of cursive Chinese characters feature a famous passage from the Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment, a foundational scripture in Zen (Chan) Buddhism. This text provides guidance on how to free oneself from delusion and rediscover one’s original, inherent state of enlightenment. Zekkai lectured on this sutra at various times in his career, including to the shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu (r. 1368–94).

住妄想境　不加了知
於無了知　不辯真實

Dwelling in the realm of delusional thinking,
one cannot attain a clear understanding.
Without a clear understanding of things,
one cannot discern actual reality.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • 絶海中津書　円覚経偈
  • Title: Sacred Verse (Gāthā) from the Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment (Engaku-kyō)
  • Artist: Zekkai Chūshin (Japanese, 1336–1405)
  • Period: Muromachi period (1392–1573)
  • Date: ca. 1380s–1405
  • Culture: Japan
  • Medium: Hanging scroll; ink on paper
  • Dimensions: Image: 37 × 13 5/16 in. (94 × 33.8 cm)
    Overall with mounting: 66 3/4 × 14 1/8 in. (169.5 × 35.9 cm)
    Overall with knobs: 66 3/4 × 15 15/16 in. (169.5 × 40.5 cm)
  • Classification: Calligraphy
  • Credit Line: Mary and Cheney Cowles Collection, Gift of Mary and Cheney Cowles, 2022
  • Object Number: 2022.432.6
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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Letter to Monk Sekibyō, Zekkai Chūshin Japanese, Hanging scroll; ink on paper, Japan
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Sacred Verse (Gāthā) from the Sutra of Buddhist Teachings (Hokku-gyō) , Zekkai Chūshin Japanese, Hanging scroll; ink on paper, Japan

Sacred Verse (Gāthā) from the Sutra of Buddhist Teachings (Hokku-gyō)

Zekkai Chūshin
ca. 1380s–1405
Three Poems from the Later Collection of Japanese Poems (Gosen wakashū), Monk Saigyō Japanese, Page from a booklet, mounted as hanging scroll; ink on paper, Japan
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”Abiding nowhere, the awakened mind arises”, Musō Soseki Japanese, Hanging scroll; ink on paper, Japan
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Three Poems from the Collection of Poems Ancient and Modern (Kokin wakashū), one of the Araki Fragments (Araki-gire), Fujiwara no Yukinari (Kōzei) Japanese, Page from a booklet mounted as a hanging scroll; ink on paper, Japan
Three Poems from the Collection of Poems Ancient and Modern (Kokin wakashū), one of the Araki Fragments (Araki-gire)
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