禅Ikkyu Sojun

proverb

Brothel and Temple

Muromachi

Traditionally attributed

Text

I drank in the brothel and meditated in the temple — and the brothel did not lower the meditation, and the meditation did not raise the brothel. Both belong to the dharma; only my embarrassment did not.

tr. Zen Lineage editorial

license: cc_by

Attribution

Lineage: Rinzai

By Ikkyu Sojun

Sources

  • contentIkkyū and the Crazy Cloud Anthology

    Sonja Arntzen (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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