#ryoukan

“ It is better to face calamity when you face calamity.

When it is time to die, it is better to die.

This is Saddharma (marvellous law of Buddha)  of avoiding calamity.”

~ RyouKan (2 November 1758 - 18 February 1831) was a Soto Zen Buddhist monk, poet, Chinese poet and calligrapher in the late Edo period.

”災難に逢った時は、災難に逢うのがよいのでしょう。

死ぬ時には、死ぬのがよいのでしょう。

これは災難を逃れる妙法です。”

You promised to view with me

Red autumn maples.

I have therefore long waited

For you to appear,

Standing up or else reclined,

Always impatient.

Yet you have not come to me.

Every day at dawn,

Frost lies thicker and thicker,

And every evening,

Rain falls colder and colder,

And often enough,

A chilly wind comes blasting,

So that I much fear

The maple leaves will perish,

And once blown away

They are gone past retrieving.

Of lasting maples,

Stable in their scarlet hues,

Durable in forms,

I have never heard them tell,

Either in annals

From the age of ancient gods,

Or in rustic tales

Passed on through generations,

Or in Chinese books

For learned scholars to read.

Thus wondering deep

While hourly waiting for you,

Led to my wit’s end,

1 could not help cutting off

These maple twigs by my gate.

By my grassy gate,

I have yet some maple leaves

In their summer hue,

Still waiting for your visit,

In spite of the chilly frost.

In the frosty dew,

Deep-dyed in glowing colours,

Maples dazzled me.

I was forced to cut them off,

Fretting and longing for you.

Tweet translation (08/03/17-4)

『Asato☆chanpuru〜』 in Okinawa, to everyone who was watching, thank you very much !!! It was a fun broadcast☆ Thanks everyone !!! *Thank you very much !

RyouKan (2 November 1758 - 18 February 1831) was a Soto Zen Buddhist monk, Japanese poet and calligrapher in the late Edo period.

-マイノート・グルの言葉 -

“災難に逢った時は、災難に逢うのがよいのでしょう。死ぬ時には、死ぬのがよいのでしょう。 これは災難を逃れる妙法です。”

On my trip to Japan last year, I stayed briefly at Meigetsuso, a hot spring ryoukan located in the city of Kaminoyama in Yamagata Prefecture. The reason I picked Yamagata is that it’s Ogiue’s home prefecture. No, really—I specifically started with “I want to visit where my favorite character is from,” and worked backwards. Based on that, as well as availability, I landed on Meigetsuso, which…