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

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

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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)

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

Lust for Enlightenment : Buddhism and Sex (1990)

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)

I take these words as an admonition to myself.

Zen Poetics of Ryokan (2006)

All Ryōkan quotes →

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.