#hojoki

The flow of the river is ceaseless and its water is never the same. The bubbles that float in the pools, now vanishing, now forming, are not of long duration: so in this world are man and his dwellings

“The flow of the river is ceaseless, and yet the water is never the same.” 🌊

This opening line from Hōjōki is one of the most famous expressions of impermanence in Japanese literature.

Kamo no Chōmei was not a social man 🤫—often reclusive, sometimes stubborn—who cherished a solitary life in a tiny hut. 🏡 In his quiet retreat, he found joy in detachment and peace away from the bustle of the world.

During the past few weeks, I took up reading a 12th-century Japaense text, the Hojoki (discussed here) using Dr. Meredith McKinney’s excellent translation. It’s not a big text; you can probably read it in an hour or less. There’s a lot of stuff to unpack in this paragraph near the end. I do not make claims for these [simple] pleasures to disparage the rich. I am simply comparing my past life…

When news of the capital happens to come my way, I learn of many people in high places who have met their end since I retired to this mountain, and other lesser folk besides, too many to be told. And how many houses too, have been lost in all those fires? In all this, my mere passing shelter has remained tranquil and safe from fears.Small it may be, but there is a bed to on a night, and a place…