木庵性瑫筆　七言絶句「柳岸鶯」

Following in the footsteps of his teacher Yinyuan Longqi, Mu’an Xingtao arrived in Japan from China, assisted in the founding of Manpukuji, and eventually succeeded as its second abbot. He was a talented and prolific calligrapher, and his brushwork was in great demand among followers. After the initial three large characters, rendered in bold, sweeping strokes, the remainder of the poem is executed in a more diminutive cursive script. The fourth character—啼 ("song")—is especially notable, featuring an elongated final vertical stroke. These extended lines serve as a visual metaphor, visualizing the prolonged chirping of the bird. The poem comments on the complexity and depth of Buddhist teachings, implying that they cannot be fully expressed or understood through simplistic means.

柳岸鶯啼斂暁煙　布帆風満起江天
寧従三寸齊鯨水　佛法終無一字宜

On the willow-lined riverbank, the warbler’s song disperses the morning mist.
Wind fills the sailcloth, lifting it to meet both river and sky.
We would rather listen to the silver-tongued preaching that tries to rival the spouting of a whale,
Since there is no single word that can adequately convey the Buddhist law.

—Trans. by Tim T. Zhang