Three Japanese Buddhist Monks Quotes

“In general, I find that reasonably sensitive and intelligent people will pass their whole life without taking the step they know they should. Would anyone with a fire close behind him choose to pause before fleeing? In a matter of life and death, one casts aside shame, abandons riches and runs. Does mortality wait on our choosing? Death comes upon us more swiftly than fire or flood. There is no escaping it.”
― Yoshida Kenkō, Three Japanese Buddhist Monks

“You must cling to the certain knowledge that death presses in on us, and never for an instant forget it”
― Yoshida Kenkō, Three Japanese Buddhist Monks

“It is a grave mistake for a foolish fellow who has to his credit the single fact that he is very good at the art of go, to decide that an intelligent man who happens to have no skill at go is therefore his intellectual inferior, or for someone skilled in any of the crafts to think himself superior because others do not understand his speciality. Scholar priests who know nothing of meditation, and meditation monks who eschew scholarship, are both wrong to judge each other as inferior.
One should never feel rivalry towards those in other fields, or pass judgement on them.”
― Yoshida Kenkō, Three Japanese Buddhist Monks

“People do indeed seek wealth in order to fulfil their desires. Money is seen as riches because it allows one to gain what one covets. Someone who has desire but does not fulfil it, who has money but does not use it, is essentially no different from a poor man. What might such a person find pleasure in? This man's teaching can be seen as an admonishment to relinquish worldly desires and not lament poverty. Far better, surely, not to have wealth than to find your pleasure in attaining your desires. Far better to avoid contracting boils and pustules in the first place than to find your pleasure in bathing them.
Once you have attained this state, there is no distinction between wealth and poverty. Enlightenment and delusion are one in Buddhist teaching. Great desire and desirelessness have much in common.”
― Yoshida Kenkō, Three Japanese Buddhist Monks

“Never depend on a promise made. People seldom keep their word.
If you rely neither on yourself nor on others, you will rejoice when things go well, and not be aggrieved when they don't. Maintain a clear space on either side, and nothing will obstruct you; keep open before and behind you, and you will be unimpeded. If you let yourself be hemmed in, you can be squeezed to breaking point. Without care and flexibility in your dealings with the world, you will find yourself in conflict and be damaged, while if you live calmly and serenely, not a hair on your head will come to harm.
Humans are the most miraculous and exalted of all things in heaven and earth. And heaven and earth are boundless. How, then, could we differ in essence? If our spirit is open and boundless, neither fear nor joy will obstruct it, and we will remain untroubled by the world.”
― Yoshida Kenkō, Three Japanese Buddhist Monks

“Never depend on a promise made. People seldom keep their word.
If you rely neither on yourself nor on others, you will rejoice when things go well, and not be aggrieved when they don't. Maintain a clear space on either side, and nothing will obstruct you; keep open before and behind you, and you will be unimpeded. If you let yourself be hemmed in, you can be squeezed to breaking point.
Without care and flexibility in your dealings with the world, you will find yourself in conflict and be damaged, while if you live calmly and serenely, not a hair on your head will come to harm.
Humans are the most miraculous and exalted of all things in heaven and earth. And heaven and earth are boundless. How, then, could we differ in essence? If our spirit is open and boundless, neither fear nor joy will obstruct it, and we will remain untroubled by the world.”
― Yoshida Kenkō, Three Japanese Buddhist Monks

“It is very nice when a friend simply drops in, has a quiet talk with you, and then leaves. It is also wonderfully pleasing to receive a letter that simply begins, 'I write because it's been some time since I sent news,' or some such.”
― Yoshida Kenkō, Three Japanese Buddhist Monks

“It is very nice when a friend simply drops in, has a quiet talk with you, and then leaves. It is also wonderfully pleasing to receive a letter that simply begins, 'I write because it's been some time since I sent news,' or
some such.”
― Yoshida Kenkō, Three Japanese Buddhist Monks

“The tales told by common folk are simply astonishing to hear. People of refinement never tell tales of the strange and marvellous. Nevertheless, this does not mean one should necessarily disbelieve the stories of the miraculous powers of the gods and buddhas, or legends of their manifesting in earthly form. It is foolish to be credulous of all the tall tales people tell about such things, but there is no point in doubting everything you hear either. As a rule, you should accept such stories at face value, neither believing everything nor ridiculing it all as nonsense.”
― Yoshida Kenkō, Three Japanese Buddhist Monks

“Let me now say a few words, however, to those who dedicate themselves to the search for knowledge and the desire for understanding. Knowledge leads to deception; talent and ability only serve to increase earthly desires. Knowledge acquired by listening to others or through study is not true knowledge. So what then should we call knowledge? Right and wrong are simply part of a single continuum. What should we call good? One who is truly wise has no knowledge or virtue, nor honour nor fame. Who then will know of him, and speak of him to others? This is not because he hides his virtue and pretends foolishness - he is beyond all distinctions such as wise and foolish, gain and loss.”
― Yoshida Kenkō, Three Japanese Buddhist Monks

“Let me now say a few words, however, to those who dedicate themselves to the search for knowledge and the desire for understanding. Knowledge leads to deception; talent and ability only serve to increase earthly desires. Knowledge acquired by listening to others or through study is not true knowledge. So what then should we call knowledge? Right and wrong are simply part of a single continuum. What should we call good?
One who is truly wise has no knowledge or virtue, nor honour nor fame. Who then will know of him, and speak of him to others? This is not because he hides his virtue and pretends foolishness - he is beyond all distinctions such as wise and foolish, gain and loss.”
― Yoshida Kenkō, Three Japanese Buddhist Monks

“Mind knows when things feel hard for the body; at such times it will grant the body rest, and work it when it is willing. Yet, work the body though it does, the mind will never push too far, and if the body is reluctant, this will not perturb the mind.”
― Kamo no Chōmei, Three Japanese Buddhist Monks

“It makes no sense to lack self-knowledge while understanding those around you.”
― Saigyō, Three Japanese Buddhist Monks