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

This entry and the next introduce two dramatically brushed, large-character calligraphies executed by Zekkai Chūshin, a Rinzai Zen monk and close disciple of Musō Soseki (cat. 15; 2018.853.2). In this striking one-column calligraphy (ichigyō-mono), the fluent ligatures connecting almost all of the characters, the firmly balanced composition of the characters, the strong bend of the characters, and the bold strokes reveal Zekkai’s adept hand in standard script even as he ventured into cursive and semicursive styles. the inscription––a sacred verse, or gāthā, taken from the Sutra of Buddhist teachings (Hokku-gyō; Sanskrit: Dhammapada)––encapsulates one of the fundamental teachings shared among various Buddhist sects and is said to be advocated by the Seven Buddhas of the Past, including Shakyamuni.

諸悪莫作　衆善奉行

Refrain from all evil.
Practice all that is good.[1]

This moralizing phrase has long been popular in Zen circles, and Zekkai may have been among the first to transcribe it. A generation later Ikkyū Sōjun (cats. 21, 22; 2021.398.10, 2023.583.6) popularized it in boldly brushed renditions, and the well-known example passed down at Shinjūan (a subtemple within the Daitokuji complex) has been designated an Important Cultural Property.[2] The phrase serves as a poignant reminder of an essential principle of the Buddha’s teachings: to shun all forms of wrongdoing and to pursue only that which is virtuous. In the context of Chan/Zen Buddhism, this phrase is famously quoted in a dialogue between the reclusive Buddhist monk Niaoke Daolin (741–824)––whose name literally means "Bird Nest in the Forest of the Way" due to his eccentric habit of meditating high up in the branches of pine trees––and the tang-dynasty poet Bai Juyi (772–846):

Bai Juyi asked Master Bird nest, "What is the essence of Buddhism?" Bird Nest answered, "to refrain from all evil and practice all that is good." Bai said: "Even a three-year-old understands that much!" to which Bird nest replied, "A three-year-old child is able to say it correctly, but even an old man of eighty cannot do it."[3]

Bird Nest’s straightforward response points out the challenge in adhering to such a seemingly simple moral admonition. Upon hearing the response, Bai Juyi decided to embrace Chan Buddhism, making the phrase an appropriate choice for inscription given to a lay patron, likely the intended purpose of this work.

Zekkai’s skillful brushwork gives an added layer of expressiveness to this Zen maxim, emphasizing its admonitory tone with every stroke. Calligraphy scholar Komatsu Shigemi suggests that such examples of running cursive script are rare, and he believes they likely come from Zekkai’s later years.[4] While Zekkai’s large-scale cursive calligraphy deserves further study, he is better known for his mastery of standard script, which was considered the model for calligraphy practiced by monks across the five prestigious temple complexes in Kyoto known as the Gozan.[5] Zekkai studied in the most prominent monasteries in China from 1368 to 1378; calligraphy scholar Itō Takuji argues that Zekkai’s standard-script calligraphy therefore reflects the mainstream style of the Yuan dynasty, led by Zhao Mengfu (1254–1322).[6] Ten Verses on Oxherding at Shōkokuji’s Jōtenkaku Museum serves as the prime example of his work in standard script.[7]

The scroll bears two seals that appear to be the same (allowing for normal wear) as those seen on Zekkai’s "The Mountain Is Empty; A Pinecone Falls" in the Met’s collection (MMA 2014.719.8), another exuberant example of cursive calligraphy. The rectangular seal reading Zekkai impressed on the lower left corners of both of these works also appears to be the same seal that appears on at least five other published works by the monk-calligrapher.[8]

[John T. Carpenter, with Tim T. Zhang, The Three Perfections (2025), cat. 16, p. 72–73, adapted 10/8/2025]

Notes:

[1] Translation adapted from Jonathan Chaves in Graybill 2020, p. 124. This verse is known as part of the "Verse of the shared Morality of the seven Buddhas" (Shichi butsu tsūkai no ge). Although the structure of the text does not fully correspond to the Chinese translation, an English translation of the inscribed verse from the original Pali can be found in J. R. Carter and Palihawadana 1987, pp. 243–44; for the Chinese text, see Takakusu, Watanabe, and Ono 1924–34, vol. 4 (1924), p. 567.

[2] Yoshizawa Katsuhiro in Gotoh Museum 2015, p. 154, no. 37. For a discussion of this phrase, see Levine 2005, pp. 211–13.

[3] Translation by Jonathan Chaves in Graybill 2020, p. 124. For the original text, see Takakusu, Watanabe, and Ono 1924–34, vol. 51 (1928), p. 230.

[4] See Komatsu 1978–80, vol. 7 (1979), pp. 216–17.

[5] For Zekkai’s biography, see Tamamura 2003, pp. 378–81; Asakura Hitoshi 2019 offers a detailed study of Zekkai’s biography and oeuvre in poetry.


[6] For a study of Zekkai’s calligraphy, see Itō Takuji 1955.


[7] Takanashi Masayuki in Tokyo National Museum, Kyushu National Museum, and Nikkei 2007, p. 315, no. 93.

[8] Due to the limited number of known cursive calligraphies by Zekkai, further comparative study is required. the seals on this work closely resemble (and may in fact be the same as) those impressed on "The Mountain Is Empty; A Pinecone Falls" in the Met’s sylvan Barnet and William Burto Collection (MMA 2014.719.8). For this work, see Tadayuki Kasashima in Murase 2002, pp. 136–37, no. 39. Other reliable comparisons for this seal are published in Tayama 1977, pls. 160–64 (Japanese section); Tayama 1981, pls. 77, 78, 220, 221 (sequel volume); Shimada and Iriya 1987, pp. 280–82, no. 89, pp. 398–400, no. 133; Nagoya Akira in Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts and Gotoh Museum 2006, p. 300, no. 87.


Bibliography:

Asakura Hitoshi 2019. Asakura Hitoshi. Zekkai Chūshin kenkyū: Hito to sakuhin to sono shūhen (Research on Zekkai Chūshin: the person, his works, and his social network). Osaka: Seibundō, 2019.

Gotoh Museum 2015. Gotoh Museum, ed. Ikkyū: Tonchi kosō no shōtai (Chasing Crazy Clouds: Person and persona in the art of Ikkyū). Gotō Bijutsukan tenrankai zuroku 140. Exh. cat. Tokyo: Gotoh Museum, 2015.

Graybill 2020. Maribeth Graybill, ed., with Jeannie Kenmotsu, Michiyo Morioka, and Sangah Kim. Poetic Imagination in Japanese Art: Selections from the Collection of Mary and Cheney Cowles. With contributions by Paul Berry, Maribeth Graybill, Michiyo Morioka, Joshua S. Mostow, Sadako Ohki, and Shimao Arata. Exh. cat. Portland, Oreg.: Portland Art Museum, 2020.

Itō Takuji 1955. Itō Takuji. "Zekkai Chūshin no bokuseki" (Zekkai Chūshin’s calligraphy). In Zekkai Kokushi to Gyūinan (National Master Zekkai and Gyūinan), edited by Yamaji Satarō, pp. 113–31. Tokyo: Gayūsha, 1955.

J. R. Carter and Palihawadana 1987. John Ross Carter and Mahinda Palihawadana, trans. The Dhammapada: A New English Translation with the Pali Text, and the First English Translation of the Commentary’s Explanation of the Verses with Notes. New York: Oxford University Press, 1987.

Komatsu 1978–80. Komatsu Shigemi, ed. Nihon shoseki taikan (Encyclopedia of Japanese calligraphic works). 25 vols. Tokyo: Kōdansha, 1978–80.

Levine 2005. Gregory P. A. Levine. Daitokuji: The Visual Cultures of a Zen Monastery. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2005.

Murase 2002. Miyeko Murase. The Written Image: Japanese Calligraphy and Painting from the Sylvan Barnet and William Burto Collection. With contributions by sylvan Barnet and William Burto et al. Exh. cat. New York: the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2002.

Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts and Gotoh Museum 2006. Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts and Gotoh Museum, eds. Sho no kokuhō: Bokuseki (Bokuseki: treasures of calligraphy by Zen monks). Exh. cat. Osaka: Yomiuri shimbunsha, 2006.

Shimada and Iriya 1987. Shimada shūjiro and Iriya Yoshitaka, eds. Zenrin gasan: Chūsei suibokuga o yomu (Painting inscriptions by Zen monks: Reading medieval ink paintings). Tokyo: Mainichi Shimbunsha, 1987.

Takakusu, Watanabe, and Ono 1924–34. Takakusu Junjirō, Watanabe Kaigyoku, and Ono Genmyo, eds. Taishō shinshū Daizōkyō (Taishō Tripitaka). 100 vols. Tokyo: Taishō Issaikyō Kankōkai, 1924–34.

Tamamura 2003. Tamamura Takeji. Gozan zensō denki shūsei (Compiled biographies of Gozan Zen monks). New edition. Kyoto: Shibunkaku, 2003. [1st edition, Tokyo: Kōdansha, 1983.]

Tayama 1977. Tayama Hōnan. Zenrin bokuseki shū’i (Calligraphy by Zen monks: sequel). 3 vols. Tokyo: Zenrin Bokuseki Kankōkai, 1977.

Tayama 1981. Tayama Hōnan. Zenrin bokuseki (Calligraphy by Zen monks). 6 vols. Kyoto: Shibunkaku, 1981.

Tokyo National Museum, Kyushu National Museum, and Nikkei 2007. Tokyo National Museum, Kyushu National Museum, and Nikkei, eds. Kyōto Gozan Zen no bunka ten: Ashikaga Yoshimitsu roppyakunen goki kinen (Zen treasures: From the Kyoto Gozan temples). Exh. cat. Tokyo: Nikkei, 2007.

Signature: Seals: (lower right, jar-shape relief seal) Zekkai 絶海; (square intaglio seal) Chūshin 中津

[ Takashi Yanagi , Kyoto, until 12/8/2015; sold to Cowles]; Mary and Cheney Cowles , Seattle, Wash. until 2024; gifted to MMA

The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Three Perfections: Japanese Poetry, Calligraphy, and Painting from the Mary and Cheney Cowles Collection," August 10, 2024–August 3, 2025.

Carpenter, John T., and Tim T. Zhang. The Three Perfections, Japanese Poetry, Calligraphy, and Painting: The Mary and Cheney Cowles Collection. Exh. cat. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, [2025], pp. 72–73, cat. no. 16.