「参禅参到独知時」四行|Four-Line Poem

Feiyin Tongrong

17th century · Hanging scroll; ink on paper · Asian Art

Feiyin Tongrong was a Chinese monk who advocated a reassessment of Chan (Zen) practice and its transmission through history, asserting the superiority of the Linji (Rinzai) sect over that of the Caodong (Sōtō). Although he spent his entire life in China, his disciples traveled to Japan, where they established Manpukuji Temple as the center for promoting Feiyin’s ideas. This poem, inscribed in cursive script, conveys Feiyin’s wish to impart his teachings: 参禅参到獨知時 得意分明挙似誰 但看普天秋月夜 一輪彌満照前渓 I’ve done Zen meditation to the point where I alone get it; Understanding and clarity, to whom might I pass this on? All I see on this night of the autumn moon is how it fills the heavens, A single wheel effulgently illuminating the stream before me. —Adapted from Jonathan Chaves

Artist

Feiyin Tongrong

Date

17th century

Medium

Hanging scroll; ink on paper

Culture

China/Japan

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Mary and Cheney Cowles Collection, Gift of Mary and Cheney Cowles, 2019