Ikkyu > Quotes

“Like vanishing dew,
a passing apparition
or the sudden flash
of lightning -- already gone --
thus should one regard one's self.”
― Ikkyu

“Many paths lead from the foot of the mountain, but at the peak we all gaze at the single bright moon.”
― Ikkyu

“Look at the cherry blossoms!
Their color and scent fall with them,
Are gone forever,
Yet mindless
The spring comes again.”
― Ikkyu

“don't wait for the man standing in the
snow
to cut off his arm help him now”
― Ikkyu, Crow with No Mouth

“we're lost where the mind can't find us
utterly lost”
― Ikkyu, Crow with No Mouth

“sick of it whatever it's called sick of the names
I dedicate every pore to what's here”
― Ikkyu

“Hearing a crow with no mouth
Cry in the deep
Darkness of the night,
I feel a longing for
My father before he was born.”
― Ikkyu, Crow with No Mouth

“fucking flattery, success, money.
I just sit back and suck my thumb.”
― Ikkyu, Crow With No Mouth : Ikkyu : Fifteenth Century Zen Master

“Studying texts and stiff meditation can make you lose your Original Mind.
A solitary tune by a fisherman, though, can be an invaluable treasure.
Dusk rain on the river, the moon peeking in and out of the clouds;
Elegant beyond words, he chants his songs night after night.”
― Ikkyu

“Watching my four year old daughter dance
I cannot break free of her.”
― Ikkyu

“clouds very high look
not one word helped them get up there”
― Ikkyu, Crow with No Mouth

“that stone Buddha deserves all the
birdshit it gets
I wave my skinny arms like a tall
flower in the wind”
― Ikkyu, Crow with No Mouth

“it isn't that we're alone or not alone
whose voice do you want mine? yours?”
― Ikkyu, Crow with No Mouth

“I'd love to give you something
but what would help?”
― Ikkyu, Crow with No Mouth

“born born everything is always born
thinking about it try not to”
― Ikkyu, Crow with No Mouth