Skip to content

In this dream world
We doze
And talk of dreams —
Dream, dream on,
As much as you wish

— Ryōkan Lust for Enlightenment : Buddhism and Sex (1990)

Another quote →

Topics

Dreams

More quotes by Ryōkan

In the scenery of spring,
nothing is better, nothing worse;
The flowering branches are
of themselves, some short, some long.

Haiku : Spring (1950)

The thief left it behind:
the moon
at my window.

The water of the valley stream
Never shouts at the tainted world: “Purify yourself!”
But naturally, as it is,
Shows how it is done.

Zen Poetics of Ryokan (2006)

You must rise above
The gloomy clouds
Covering the mountaintop
Otherwise, how will you
Ever see the brightness?

Lust for Enlightenment : Buddhism and Sex (1990)

I take these words as an admonition to myself.

Zen Poetics of Ryokan (2006)

All Ryōkan quotes →

You may also like

Political leaders are never leaders. For leaders we have to look to the Awakeners! Lao Tse, Buddha, Socrates, Jesus, Milarepa, Gurdjiev, Krishnamurti.

Henry Miller My Bike & Other Friends (1977)

Utu, shepherd of the land, father of the black-headed, when you go to sleep, the people go to sleep with you; youth Utu, when you rise, the people rise with you.

Lugalbanda

Some of my youthful readers are developing wonderful imaginations. This pleases me.

L. Frank Baum Introduction to The Lost Princess of Oz (1917)

Religion in so far as it is a source of consolation is a hindrance to true faith; and in this sense atheism is a purification.

Simone Weil

Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Ryōkan (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.