禅Hakuin Ekaku

proverb

Soft-Butter Method

Yasen Kanna

Edo

Traditionally attributed

Text

When the body grows ill from too-tight practice, place an imagined ball of soft butter on the crown of the head. Let it melt down through every joint and organ. The body returns; the practice continues without breaking the body it depends on.

tr. Zen Lineage editorial

license: cc_by

Attribution

Lineage: Rinzai

By Hakuin Ekaku

Sources

  • contentThe Essential Teachings of Zen Master Hakuin

    Norman Waddell (trans.)

No per-field confidence has been recorded for this teaching yet. Treat individual claims with the caution appropriate to the source list below.

Attribution status: traditional — see editorial policy for what this means.

1 supporting citation on record (see Sources above).

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