Zen Saying by Dahui Zonggao on the Passage of Time

This work features a simple yet profound phrase brusquely brushed by Jakushitsu Genkō, a Japanese monk who traveled to China and immersed himself in not only monastic training but also the study of Chinese language and literature. Jakushitsu’s story serves as an exemplar of how Chinese Chan teachings were transmitted to Zen temples in Japan. this hanging scroll—an early example of ichigyō-mono, or single-column calligraphy. The single line of text consists of eight Chinese characters in sometimes angular cursive script in which the first two pairs of characters are linked and the last four stand alone, and the urgency of the brushwork reinforces the age-old wisdom of the Zen adage:

光陰可惜 時不待人

The passage of days and nights
should be cherished––
time does not wait
for anyone.

––Translation by John T. Carpenter

This phrase is included in various early Chan sources, most importantly the compilation of Buddhist sayings by Dahui Zonggao (Daie Sōkō; 1089–1163), the Song-dynasty monk who advocated meditating on koans in order to achieve enlightenment––a practice fundamental to the teaching methods of Rinzai Zen monks. A hanging scroll such as this would have been prized for display at a tea gathering, and calligraphies featuring this very phrase are documented in multiple tea diaries of the Edo period and later.