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roam_roam 's review for:
Essays in Idleness and Hojoki
by Chomei, Kenko
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
“A powerful man will be beset by cravings, one without family ties will be scorned. Wealth brings great anxiety, while with poverty come fierce resentments. Dependence on others puts you in their power, while care for others will snare you in the worldly attachments of affection. Follow the social rules, and they hem you in; fail to do so, and you are thought as good as crazy.
Where can one be, what can one do, to find a little safe shelter in this world, and a little peace of mind?” -p.12 (“Hōjōki”)
“Small it may be, but there is a bed to sleep on at night, and a place to sit in the daytime. As a simple place to house myself, it lacks nothing. The hermit crab prefers a little shell for his home. He knows what the world holds. The osprey chooses the wild shoreline, and this is because he fears mankind. And I too am the same. Knowing what the world holds and its ways, I desire nothing from it, nor chase after its prizes. My one craving is to be at peace, my one pleasure to live free of troubles.” -p.16 (“Hōjōki”)
“People who cultivate friendships prize men with wealth, and prefer those who are eager to please. They do not always cherish friends who are loving, or pure of heart. Best by far is the company of flute and strings, and of the flowers and moon.” -p.17 (“Hōjōki”)
“Fish never tire of water, a state incomprehensible to any but the fish. The bird’s desire for the forest makes sense to none but birds. And so it is with the pleasure of seclusion. Who but one who lives it can understand its joys?” -p.17~18 (“Hōjōki”)
“It is a most wonderful comfort to sit alone beneath a lamp, book spread before you, and commune with someone from the past whom you have never met.” -p.27 (“Essays in Idleness”, 13)
“How mutable the flower of the human heart, a fluttering blossom gone before the breeze’s touch—so we recall the bygone years when the heart of another was our close companion, each dear word that stirred us then still unforgotten; and yet, it is the way of things that the beloved should move into worlds beyond our own, a parting far sadder than from the dead.” -p.34 (“Essays in Idleness”, 26)
“One who is truly wise has no knowledge or virtue, nor honor nor fame. Who then will know of him, and speak of him to others? This is not because he hides his virtue and pretends foolishness—he is beyond all distinctions such as wise and foolishness, gain and loss.” -p.40 (“Essays in Idleness”, 38)
“We swarm like ants, scurrying to east and west, dashing to north and south, folk of high birth and of low, old and young, some going, others returning, sleeping at night, rising again next morning… What is all this busyness? There is no end to our greed for life, our lust for gain.” -p.58 (“Essays in Idleness”, 74)
“What kind of man will feel depressed at being idle? There is nothing finer than to be alone with nothing to distract you.” -p.58 (“Essays in Idleness”, 75)
“It is best not to seem too deeply acquainted with any subject.
Do we find people of refinement proudly holding forth on some topic, just because they happen to know about it? Some provincial boor, on the other hand, will assure you that he knows all about anything you happen to ask. Sometimes a man can genuinely impress you with how well informed he is, but on the whole such people appear stupidly complacent and self-satisfied.
It is truly impressive to speak only reluctantly about something you thoroughly understand, and not to mention it at all unless asked.” -p.59~60 (“Essays in Idleness”, 79)
“In this transient phenomenal world with its constant change, what appears to exist in fact does not. What is begun has no end. Aims go unfulfilled, yet desire is endless. The human heart changes ceaselessly. All things are passing illusion. What is there that remains unchanging?” -p.66 (“Essays in Idleness”, 91)
“When hesitating between doing and not doing something, it is generally better not to do it.” -p.68 (“Essays in Idleness”, 98)
“Even people who seem eminently intelligent will judge others yet have no knowledge of themselves. It makes no sense to lack self-knowledge while understanding those around you. He who knows himself must be said to be the man of real knowledge.” -p.85 (“Essays in Idleness”, 134)
“In all things, the beginning and end are the most engaging. Does the love of man and women suggest only their embraces? No, the sorrow of lovers parted before they met, laments over promises betrayed, long lonely nights spent sleepless until dawn, pining thoughts for one in some far place, a woman left sighing over past love in her tumbledown abode—it is these, surely, that embrace the romance of love.” -p.87 (“Essays in Idleness”, 137)
“The emptiness of space allows it to contain things. The fact that thoughts can come crowding into our mind at will must mean that ‘mind’ is actually an empty space too. If someone were really in residence there, it would surely not be invaded by all these thoughts.” -p.133 (“Essays in Idleness”, 235)
——————
“Hōjōki”: 7.5/10
“Essays in Idleness”: 6.5/10
Where can one be, what can one do, to find a little safe shelter in this world, and a little peace of mind?” -p.12 (“Hōjōki”)
“Small it may be, but there is a bed to sleep on at night, and a place to sit in the daytime. As a simple place to house myself, it lacks nothing. The hermit crab prefers a little shell for his home. He knows what the world holds. The osprey chooses the wild shoreline, and this is because he fears mankind. And I too am the same. Knowing what the world holds and its ways, I desire nothing from it, nor chase after its prizes. My one craving is to be at peace, my one pleasure to live free of troubles.” -p.16 (“Hōjōki”)
“People who cultivate friendships prize men with wealth, and prefer those who are eager to please. They do not always cherish friends who are loving, or pure of heart. Best by far is the company of flute and strings, and of the flowers and moon.” -p.17 (“Hōjōki”)
“Fish never tire of water, a state incomprehensible to any but the fish. The bird’s desire for the forest makes sense to none but birds. And so it is with the pleasure of seclusion. Who but one who lives it can understand its joys?” -p.17~18 (“Hōjōki”)
“It is a most wonderful comfort to sit alone beneath a lamp, book spread before you, and commune with someone from the past whom you have never met.” -p.27 (“Essays in Idleness”, 13)
“How mutable the flower of the human heart, a fluttering blossom gone before the breeze’s touch—so we recall the bygone years when the heart of another was our close companion, each dear word that stirred us then still unforgotten; and yet, it is the way of things that the beloved should move into worlds beyond our own, a parting far sadder than from the dead.” -p.34 (“Essays in Idleness”, 26)
“One who is truly wise has no knowledge or virtue, nor honor nor fame. Who then will know of him, and speak of him to others? This is not because he hides his virtue and pretends foolishness—he is beyond all distinctions such as wise and foolishness, gain and loss.” -p.40 (“Essays in Idleness”, 38)
“We swarm like ants, scurrying to east and west, dashing to north and south, folk of high birth and of low, old and young, some going, others returning, sleeping at night, rising again next morning… What is all this busyness? There is no end to our greed for life, our lust for gain.” -p.58 (“Essays in Idleness”, 74)
“What kind of man will feel depressed at being idle? There is nothing finer than to be alone with nothing to distract you.” -p.58 (“Essays in Idleness”, 75)
“It is best not to seem too deeply acquainted with any subject.
Do we find people of refinement proudly holding forth on some topic, just because they happen to know about it? Some provincial boor, on the other hand, will assure you that he knows all about anything you happen to ask. Sometimes a man can genuinely impress you with how well informed he is, but on the whole such people appear stupidly complacent and self-satisfied.
It is truly impressive to speak only reluctantly about something you thoroughly understand, and not to mention it at all unless asked.” -p.59~60 (“Essays in Idleness”, 79)
“In this transient phenomenal world with its constant change, what appears to exist in fact does not. What is begun has no end. Aims go unfulfilled, yet desire is endless. The human heart changes ceaselessly. All things are passing illusion. What is there that remains unchanging?” -p.66 (“Essays in Idleness”, 91)
“When hesitating between doing and not doing something, it is generally better not to do it.” -p.68 (“Essays in Idleness”, 98)
“Even people who seem eminently intelligent will judge others yet have no knowledge of themselves. It makes no sense to lack self-knowledge while understanding those around you. He who knows himself must be said to be the man of real knowledge.” -p.85 (“Essays in Idleness”, 134)
“In all things, the beginning and end are the most engaging. Does the love of man and women suggest only their embraces? No, the sorrow of lovers parted before they met, laments over promises betrayed, long lonely nights spent sleepless until dawn, pining thoughts for one in some far place, a woman left sighing over past love in her tumbledown abode—it is these, surely, that embrace the romance of love.” -p.87 (“Essays in Idleness”, 137)
“The emptiness of space allows it to contain things. The fact that thoughts can come crowding into our mind at will must mean that ‘mind’ is actually an empty space too. If someone were really in residence there, it would surely not be invaded by all these thoughts.” -p.133 (“Essays in Idleness”, 235)
——————
“Hōjōki”: 7.5/10
“Essays in Idleness”: 6.5/10