Sublime

Rikyu took the baton of artlessness from his predecessor, Ikkyu, when he introduced Korean craft pottery into his tea ceremony. The Korean potters, who might have made a hundred similar pots in a day, were probably totally devoid of any thought of artistic aspirations as they worked, and it was just this lack of intellect that proved so attractive

“Now is the time to visit all the celebrated places in the country and fill our heads with what we have seen, so that when we become old and bald, we shall have something to talk about over our teacups,” so begins Thomas Satchell’s translation of one of the most famous literary accounts of walking in Japan—Shank’s Mare.

The Bamboo Forest Zen Master12 once said: “Everything I touch becomes new.”

“the path of the Bodhisattva:” I am the protector of the unprotected and the caravan-leader for travelers. I have become the boat, the causeway, and the bridge for those who long to reach the further shore. May I be a light for those in need of light. May I be a bed for those in need of rest. May I be a servant for those in need of service, for all

“In order to appreciate the work, one’s heart must be pure and receptive and then this ancient calligraphy will speak to you.”

His memory palace was a Japanese inn. Not just any inn: it was the Minaguchi-ya, on the Tokaido Road, between Tokyo and Kyoto. Eiko had never visited the Minaguchi-ya, but he had read an ancient book, by a gaijin from the old American States named Oliver Statler. The book had detailed the Minaguchi-ya: every room of the place, over all the generati

“truths that transcend words.”

the Imperfect

the art of sitting still (in other words, clearing the head and stilling the emotions)—and as I observed the sense of attention, kindness, and even delight that seemed to arise out of his life of going nowhere—I