Ryōkan
Sign in to saveAlso known as Ryokan, Ryoukan
was a quiet and unorthodox 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.
Person · Open Library
- Born
- 1758
- Died
- 1831
- Works
- 46
Top works
- 良寬詩歌と書の世界
- 良寬「法華讃」
- 良寬展
- 良寬の詩を読む
- 北越偉人沙門良寬全傳
via Open Library + Wikidata
Listeners · Last.fm
- Listeners
- 1
- Total plays
- 26
<a href="https://www.last.fm/music/Ry%C5%8Dkan">Read more on Last.fm</a>
via Last.fm · Ryōkan
Recent publications · Crossref
5 total works indexed
- To Inscribe on a Picture of a Skull I Painted
· 1975
- Untitled Poem
· 1975
- Untitled Poem
· 1975
- Poems in Chinese by the Japanese Zen Monk Ryōkan
· 1975
- The Zen Poems of Ryōkan
· 1982
via Crossref · CC0
Quotes
- “In the scenery of spring, nothing is better, nothing worse; The flowering branches are of themselves, some short, some long.”
- “In this dream world We doze And talk of dreams — Dream, dream on, As much as you wish”
- “You must rise above The gloomy clouds Covering the mountaintop Otherwise, how will you Ever see the brightness?”
- “The thief left it behind: the moon at my window.”
- “Late at night, listening to the winter rain Recalling my youth — Was it only a dream? Was I really young once?”
- “Cling to truth and it turns into falsehood. Understand falsehood and it turns into truth. Truth and falsehood are two sides of the same coin. Neither accept one nor reject the other.”
via Wikiquote · CC BY-SA
Key facts
- Religious biography.name
- Ryōkan
- Religious biography.caption
- A statue of Ryōkan.
- Religious biography.birth_date
- 1758
- Religious biography.birth_place
- Niigata Prefecture, Japan
- Religious biography.death_date
- 18 February 1831
- Religious biography.religion
- Buddhism
- Religious biography.school
- Sōtō
- Religious biography.title
- Rōshi
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Image
- RYOKAN PORTRAITE.JPG
Show 6 more facts
- Commons category
- Ryoukan
- date of birth
- 1758-01-01
- date of death
- 1831-01-01
- name in native language
- 良寛
- name in kana
- りょうかん
- Commons Creator page
- Ryōkan
Sources (1)
via Wikidata · CC0
~7 min read
Article
8 sectionsContents
- Early life
- Life as a hermit
- Final years
- Stories of Ryōkan
- Notes
- References
- Further reading
- External links
was a quiet and unorthodox 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.
==Early life== Ryōkan was born in the village of Izumozaki in Echigo Province (now Niigata Prefecture) in Japan to the village headman. He renounced the world at an early age to train at nearby Sōtō Zen temple Kōshō-ji, refusing to meet with or accept charity from his family. Once the Zen master Kokusen visited the temple, and Ryōkan was deeply impressed with his demeanour. He solicited permission to become Kokusen's disciple. Kokusen accepted, and the two returned to Entsū-ji monastery in Tamashima (now Okayama Prefecture).