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Great Fool: Zen Master Ryōkan; Poems, Letters, and Other Writings
Taigu Ryokan (1758-1831) remains one of the most popular figures in Japanese Buddhist history. Despite his religious and artistic sophistication (he excelled in scriptural studies, in calligraphy, and in poetry), Ryokan referred to himself as "Great Fool, " refusing to place himself within any established religious institution. In contrast to Zen masters of his time who presided over large monasteries, trained students, or produced recondite treatises, Ryokan followed a life of mendicancy in the countryside. Instead of delivering sermons, he expressed himself through kanshi (poems composed in classical Chinese) and waka (poems in Japanese syllabary) and could typically be found playing with the village children in the course of his daily rounds of begging. Great Fool is the first study in a Western language to offer a comprehensive picture of the legendary poet-monk and his oeuvre. It includes not only an extensive collection of the master's kanshi, topically arranged to facilitate an appreciation of Ryokan's colorful world, but selections of his waka, essays, and letters. The volume also presents for the first time in English the Ryokan zenji kiwa (Curious Accounts of the Zen Master Ryokan), a firsthand source composed by a former student less than sixteen years after Ryokan's death. Consisting of anecdotes and episodes, sketches from Ryokan's everyday life, the Curious Accounts is invaluable for showing how Ryokan was understood and remembered by his contemporaries. To further assist the reader, three introductory essays approach Ryokan from the diverse perspectives of his personal history and literary work.
324 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1996
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About the author
Ryōkan
47 books117 followersRyōkan Taigu (1758–1831) was a quiet and eccentric Sōtō Zen Buddhist monk who lived much of his life as a hermit. Ryōkan is remembered for his poetry and calligraphy, which present the essence of Zen life.
Ryōkan lived a very simple, pure life, and stories about his kindness and generosity abound. However, even though he lived his simple and pure life, he also displayed characteristics that under normal circumstances would be out of line for a normal monk.
Ryōkan lived a very simple, pure life, and stories about his kindness and generosity abound. However, even though he lived his simple and pure life, he also displayed characteristics that under normal circumstances would be out of line for a normal monk.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
August 1, 2023
Of the five or so Ryokan translations I've read, I like this one the best and it's got more poems than any other Ryokan book I've come across in English. That said, this isn't a book for casual poetry readers -- if that's you, I'd try "One Robe, One Bowl: The Zen Poetry of Ryōkan" translated by John Stevens.
This book has a lot of scholarly articles that I skimmed except for the poems embedded in them, but there are also sections of just poems (with lots and lots of footnotes, which I generally read and found enjoyable and enlightening). Ryokan's letters are mundane, mostly thank yous for gifts, but they do give an insight into the life of a wandering Zen monk and poet in early 1800s Japan. I wish someone would do a book in English about Ryokan and the young Buddhist nun Teishin with whom he traded poems late in his life -- this book includes a solid selection of their exchanges.
Ah, I'm rambling. Ryokan makes me wistful at the fleetingness of life. Here are a few excerpts:
The water of the valley stream
Never shouts at the tainted world
"Purify yourself!"
But naturally, as it is
Shows how it is done.
And:
Ever since I quit the temple
My life has been resolutely carefree
My staff is always at my side
My robe is worn completely threadbare
At night in my hut, through the lonely window
I hear the falling rain
On spring days when the flowers riot in bloom
I'm playing ball out in the street
If anyone asks what I'm doing, I say:
"The most useless man there ever was!"
And one more:
I don't shrink from making a distant journey with
only my water bottle and begging bowl
But my robe has become so desperately worn
it's almost like wearing nothing at all
I know I haven't a thing in my purse
And all because nature's beauties led me astray!
This book has a lot of scholarly articles that I skimmed except for the poems embedded in them, but there are also sections of just poems (with lots and lots of footnotes, which I generally read and found enjoyable and enlightening). Ryokan's letters are mundane, mostly thank yous for gifts, but they do give an insight into the life of a wandering Zen monk and poet in early 1800s Japan. I wish someone would do a book in English about Ryokan and the young Buddhist nun Teishin with whom he traded poems late in his life -- this book includes a solid selection of their exchanges.
Ah, I'm rambling. Ryokan makes me wistful at the fleetingness of life. Here are a few excerpts:
The water of the valley stream
Never shouts at the tainted world
"Purify yourself!"
But naturally, as it is
Shows how it is done.
And:
Ever since I quit the temple
My life has been resolutely carefree
My staff is always at my side
My robe is worn completely threadbare
At night in my hut, through the lonely window
I hear the falling rain
On spring days when the flowers riot in bloom
I'm playing ball out in the street
If anyone asks what I'm doing, I say:
"The most useless man there ever was!"
And one more:
I don't shrink from making a distant journey with
only my water bottle and begging bowl
But my robe has become so desperately worn
it's almost like wearing nothing at all
I know I haven't a thing in my purse
And all because nature's beauties led me astray!
August 5, 2020
Wonderful passages from Ryokan. The introductory essays (particularly "A Poetics of Mendicancy") defy Ryokan's admonition against pretentious talk about learning. Compared to Ryokan's effortless lightness and freedom in writing, the criticism was dull and not much in the spirit of the text. That was my only real complaint. The notes were excellent and informative.
August 19, 2024
"Taigu Ryokan (1758-1831), a penniless monk whose life was spent in obscurity in Japan's snow country, meditating, playing with children, and writing poems that vividly describe his world. He lived by begging in the villages and towns of his native area, beloved by all, celebrated for his warmth and wisdom, and legendary for his naivete, which made him the butt of countless practical jokes."
It's interesting that Japan-- modern, sleek, frictionless, capitalistic -- is currently experiencing what the introduction of this book calls a "Ryokan Boom": pilgrims flock to a reconstruction of his hut on Mount Kugami, where Ryokan lived alone for 26 years; he's the subject of books and motivational speeches and museum exhibits. One survey from the 70's found that 99% of schoolchildren know stories of Ryokan, because the Foolish Monk is the frequent subject of children's literature.
What's so appealing about Ryokan?
It's not hard to see. Eccentric, humble, funny, and playful, Ryokan is one of the great spirits. Named a "fool" in the inka, or seal of approval, given him by his Zen master, he was thereafter sometimes nicknamed the "Great Fool." He participates, then, in that broad coalition of "Holy Fools" from various religious traditions around the world. He's the cousin of other silly saints (see "Foolishness for Christ" on Wikipedia). Like other Holy Fools, he was non-conventional, often thwarting conventional expectations of behavior.
He was exceedingly gentle and kind: He begged for his food, and if he had any extras he would share it with the birds and animals. When bamboo began growing through the roof of his outhouse, he cut holes in the roof to allow the bamboo to keep growing unhindered. Who was he to put his needs in front of the needs of the bamboo?
He was legendary for playing with the village children: grass-tugging contests, sumo wrestling, hide-and-seek. He admired children, he said, because "I love their truthfulness and their lack of pretense." In one of his most famous poems, someone incredulously asks him why he would waste his time with children:
"Why are you acting like such a fool?"
I nod my head and don't answer.
I could say something, but why?
Do you want to know what's in my heart?
From the beginning of time:
just this! just this!
This! Just this!
I read these exclamations this way: That in child's play Ryokan experienced the secret of the Universe.
I recall what the great Alan Wise said about play: "Man suffers only because he takes seriously what the gods made for fun. The meaning of life is just to be alive. It is so plain and so obvious and so simple. And yet, everybody rushes around in a great panic as if it were necessary to achieve something beyond themselves. The secret of life — to be completely engaged with what you are doing in the here and now. And instead of calling it work, realize it is play.”
Always up for a game, Ryokan always carried little toys and trinkets on his person-- balls and playing stones, etc. We know this because, ever absent-minded, he carried a list detailing everything he carried around, as a reminder to himself.
One of Ryokan's his disciples wrote of him:
Playing in the Buddha's path
You never tire of bouncing your ball.
This, just this -- The inexhaustible Dharma."
Again: Bouncing balls is the inexhaustible Dharma! This, just this!
When he wasn't playing with the village children, he covered the walls of his hut in poems he composed in both Chinese and Japanese. The poems are stark portraits of the environs of his home mountain. If they are not haiku, Western readers will be forgiven for thinking them very Haiku-like. (In fact, though, Ryokan's father was a big fan of Basho, and led a kind of literary renaissance or revival, urging the literati to return to Basho's example.)
A sample of Ryokan's poetry in Chinese:
As spring draws to a close
fragrant grasses grow rank
Scattered peach blossoms drift lazily
on the surface of the stream
I've always been innocent of the wiles of men
Nature's beauties still sweep me off my feet
Every day, day after day
I spend at my ease playing with the children
In the sleeves of my robe, two or three balls
A useless fellow, yes
But I know how to make myself drunk
sipping my fill of the peaceful springtime.
And in Japanese:
Playing ball
With the children in this village
Spring day, never let the shadows fall
I was on my way to beg
But passing by a spring field
Spent the whole day
Picking violets
My words cannot hope to match
The Buddha's exquisite teaching
My sermon:
The gardenia from the mountains
##
As I type these examples out, it occurs to me that the Chinese poems are less Haiku-like than the Japanese; the Chinese poems are somewhat longer; the Japanese have much more compression, etc. In any case, you get a sense of Ryokan's particular style. And, to be honest, it doesn't vary much from this. If you're looking for a collection of poems with a wide range of interests, where you don't know what to expect from one poem to the next -- well, Ryokan is not for you.
But I find Ryokan an incredibly likable figure. I'm so glad to have met the "Great Fool" of Mount Kumami!
It's interesting that Japan-- modern, sleek, frictionless, capitalistic -- is currently experiencing what the introduction of this book calls a "Ryokan Boom": pilgrims flock to a reconstruction of his hut on Mount Kugami, where Ryokan lived alone for 26 years; he's the subject of books and motivational speeches and museum exhibits. One survey from the 70's found that 99% of schoolchildren know stories of Ryokan, because the Foolish Monk is the frequent subject of children's literature.
What's so appealing about Ryokan?
It's not hard to see. Eccentric, humble, funny, and playful, Ryokan is one of the great spirits. Named a "fool" in the inka, or seal of approval, given him by his Zen master, he was thereafter sometimes nicknamed the "Great Fool." He participates, then, in that broad coalition of "Holy Fools" from various religious traditions around the world. He's the cousin of other silly saints (see "Foolishness for Christ" on Wikipedia). Like other Holy Fools, he was non-conventional, often thwarting conventional expectations of behavior.
He was exceedingly gentle and kind: He begged for his food, and if he had any extras he would share it with the birds and animals. When bamboo began growing through the roof of his outhouse, he cut holes in the roof to allow the bamboo to keep growing unhindered. Who was he to put his needs in front of the needs of the bamboo?
He was legendary for playing with the village children: grass-tugging contests, sumo wrestling, hide-and-seek. He admired children, he said, because "I love their truthfulness and their lack of pretense." In one of his most famous poems, someone incredulously asks him why he would waste his time with children:
"Why are you acting like such a fool?"
I nod my head and don't answer.
I could say something, but why?
Do you want to know what's in my heart?
From the beginning of time:
just this! just this!
This! Just this!
I read these exclamations this way: That in child's play Ryokan experienced the secret of the Universe.
I recall what the great Alan Wise said about play: "Man suffers only because he takes seriously what the gods made for fun. The meaning of life is just to be alive. It is so plain and so obvious and so simple. And yet, everybody rushes around in a great panic as if it were necessary to achieve something beyond themselves. The secret of life — to be completely engaged with what you are doing in the here and now. And instead of calling it work, realize it is play.”
Always up for a game, Ryokan always carried little toys and trinkets on his person-- balls and playing stones, etc. We know this because, ever absent-minded, he carried a list detailing everything he carried around, as a reminder to himself.
One of Ryokan's his disciples wrote of him:
Playing in the Buddha's path
You never tire of bouncing your ball.
This, just this -- The inexhaustible Dharma."
Again: Bouncing balls is the inexhaustible Dharma! This, just this!
When he wasn't playing with the village children, he covered the walls of his hut in poems he composed in both Chinese and Japanese. The poems are stark portraits of the environs of his home mountain. If they are not haiku, Western readers will be forgiven for thinking them very Haiku-like. (In fact, though, Ryokan's father was a big fan of Basho, and led a kind of literary renaissance or revival, urging the literati to return to Basho's example.)
A sample of Ryokan's poetry in Chinese:
As spring draws to a close
fragrant grasses grow rank
Scattered peach blossoms drift lazily
on the surface of the stream
I've always been innocent of the wiles of men
Nature's beauties still sweep me off my feet
Every day, day after day
I spend at my ease playing with the children
In the sleeves of my robe, two or three balls
A useless fellow, yes
But I know how to make myself drunk
sipping my fill of the peaceful springtime.
And in Japanese:
Playing ball
With the children in this village
Spring day, never let the shadows fall
I was on my way to beg
But passing by a spring field
Spent the whole day
Picking violets
My words cannot hope to match
The Buddha's exquisite teaching
My sermon:
The gardenia from the mountains
##
As I type these examples out, it occurs to me that the Chinese poems are less Haiku-like than the Japanese; the Chinese poems are somewhat longer; the Japanese have much more compression, etc. In any case, you get a sense of Ryokan's particular style. And, to be honest, it doesn't vary much from this. If you're looking for a collection of poems with a wide range of interests, where you don't know what to expect from one poem to the next -- well, Ryokan is not for you.
But I find Ryokan an incredibly likable figure. I'm so glad to have met the "Great Fool" of Mount Kumami!
November 14, 2022
Master Ryōkan Taigu is a fairly little known figure in the west, though he seems to be far better known, perhaps even something of a folk hero, in Japan. An 18th century Zen Buddhist hermit monk who was outspoken against the establishment of the Zen church and seen as deeply unconventional and eccentric, Ryōkan is certainly a fascinating character. The book largely consists of poems and letters from him, as well as a section describing a number of situations he got into written by a friend of his, and a section describing a bit of history on Buddhism and some complaints about the church establishment written by Ryōkan, himself.
I found this last section very interesting, especially. I think, here in the west especially, Zen Buddhism is viewed with a heavy lens of Orientalism, being seen as something almost above criticism; impermeable. I found it very interesting to see a description of how this clergy, with a doctrine I am generally far more agreeable to than most others, being someone who, though I wouldn't consider myself fully aligning with any religions, am very sympathetic to Buddhist ideas, practicing with a local temple, is no less subject to corruption than any other.
Ryōkan was a beautiful and compassionate soul. The concern and care he showed for others and the incredible, child-like view he took of the world, particularly in the natural, semi-nomadic state in which he often lived, is incredible and truly shines through in his letters, descriptions, and poetry. A truly eccentric man, I found myself wishing I could meet and speak to this long dead monk. A truly great read and as a practicing semi-Buddhist, I found some of the writings to be very illuminating and interesting in a religious sense as well.
I found this last section very interesting, especially. I think, here in the west especially, Zen Buddhism is viewed with a heavy lens of Orientalism, being seen as something almost above criticism; impermeable. I found it very interesting to see a description of how this clergy, with a doctrine I am generally far more agreeable to than most others, being someone who, though I wouldn't consider myself fully aligning with any religions, am very sympathetic to Buddhist ideas, practicing with a local temple, is no less subject to corruption than any other.
Ryōkan was a beautiful and compassionate soul. The concern and care he showed for others and the incredible, child-like view he took of the world, particularly in the natural, semi-nomadic state in which he often lived, is incredible and truly shines through in his letters, descriptions, and poetry. A truly eccentric man, I found myself wishing I could meet and speak to this long dead monk. A truly great read and as a practicing semi-Buddhist, I found some of the writings to be very illuminating and interesting in a religious sense as well.
February 13, 2023
Ryōkan’s writings are wonderful, as are some of the supplementary texts. However many of the essays were a bit boring and unnecessary for an appreciation of the monk’s work. I advise skipping over the less enlightening explanatory material and concentrate entirely on Ryōkan’s actual words (or at least the translation of them!)
October 8, 2024
This book is a good source for academic essays that research aspects of the author’s life and the environment that he lived it, but there is less of the actual poetry than other publications. But still a valuable source for insights into Ryokan and his evolving views of Zen Buddhism in Japan.
July 17, 2022
The essays are pretty dispensable since the intro tells most of the story.
But Ryokans poems are almost haiku like gems.
But Ryokans poems are almost haiku like gems.
February 28, 2018
This book is a collection of Japanese Zen master Ryokan's kanshi poems, composed in classical Chinese, waka poems, composed in Japanese syllabary, some letters and his reflections on Buddhism. The poems are quiet reflections on his own life combined with Zen wisdom. Example:
Walking along
I followed the drifting stream to its source
but reaching the headwaters left me stunned
That's when I realized that the true source
is't a particular place you can reach
So now, wherever my staff sets down
I just play in the current's eddies and swirls.
The letters are mostly about thanking his patrons for the gifts that were sent and some are accompanied by haiku poems.
The last part of the book deals with his reflections on Buddhism, in which after writing a short history of Buddhism and its many schools, he notes the sectarian factionalism that plagues the Buddhism of Japan in his time, and bemoans that monks are getting too consumed by intellectual curiosities and have left the path that Buddha walked.
At the end of these reflections, he has a simple piece of advice for everyone.
Don't take long naps.
Don't do things you know you shouldn't be doing.
Dont't be lazy.
Don't do thinsg halfway.
Don't try to hide from your worries.
Drink sake hot.
Keep your head shaved. (This one might be for monks alone).
Cut fingernails and toenails.
Rinse the mouth and clean the teeth.
Bathe.
Speak out loud.
Walking along
I followed the drifting stream to its source
but reaching the headwaters left me stunned
That's when I realized that the true source
is't a particular place you can reach
So now, wherever my staff sets down
I just play in the current's eddies and swirls.
The letters are mostly about thanking his patrons for the gifts that were sent and some are accompanied by haiku poems.
The last part of the book deals with his reflections on Buddhism, in which after writing a short history of Buddhism and its many schools, he notes the sectarian factionalism that plagues the Buddhism of Japan in his time, and bemoans that monks are getting too consumed by intellectual curiosities and have left the path that Buddha walked.
At the end of these reflections, he has a simple piece of advice for everyone.
Don't take long naps.
Don't do things you know you shouldn't be doing.
Dont't be lazy.
Don't do thinsg halfway.
Don't try to hide from your worries.
Drink sake hot.
Keep your head shaved. (This one might be for monks alone).
Cut fingernails and toenails.
Rinse the mouth and clean the teeth.
Bathe.
Speak out loud.
March 30, 2010
Wonderful stories about one of the most interesting Zen Monks of all time. Heart warming, tender and honest. Great biographical background.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews