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A review by gigahurt
Zen: The Art of Simple Living by Shunmyō Masuno
4.0
Simple wisdom. Less focused thematically then something like a Thích Nhất Hạnh book. Still nourishing. The most impactful passage for me follows:
"The Zen monk Ikkyu, famous for his wit, was once asked by a merchant celebrating the birth of his grandchild to write something congratulatory. Ikkyu thought for a moment, and then wrote, “The parent dies, the child dies, the grandchild dies.” The merchant read it with a puzzled expression, then complained, “Why have you written something so morbid?”
Here is what Ikkyu said.
“First the parent dies, then the child dies, and at last the grandchild grows old and dies. That is the natural order. If your family is able to experience death in the natural order, you will have the greatest happiness.” Everyone could not help but agree.
To make it through today, another uneventful and ordinary day. To breathe in and out, to do our work, to sleep well.
Ordinary and unremarkable as it may seem, this is actually what makes it all the more amazing.
The simple happiness of the passage of one day after another—such happiness is right before our eyes."
The passage is about accepting the natural order, and showing gratitude, and I appreciated it very much.
"The Zen monk Ikkyu, famous for his wit, was once asked by a merchant celebrating the birth of his grandchild to write something congratulatory. Ikkyu thought for a moment, and then wrote, “The parent dies, the child dies, the grandchild dies.” The merchant read it with a puzzled expression, then complained, “Why have you written something so morbid?”
Here is what Ikkyu said.
“First the parent dies, then the child dies, and at last the grandchild grows old and dies. That is the natural order. If your family is able to experience death in the natural order, you will have the greatest happiness.” Everyone could not help but agree.
To make it through today, another uneventful and ordinary day. To breathe in and out, to do our work, to sleep well.
Ordinary and unremarkable as it may seem, this is actually what makes it all the more amazing.
The simple happiness of the passage of one day after another—such happiness is right before our eyes."
The passage is about accepting the natural order, and showing gratitude, and I appreciated it very much.