禅Sengai Gibon

proverb

Three Friends

Edo

Traditionally attributed

Text

Pine, bamboo, plum — three friends of winter. Each holds firm in a different way: the pine by not letting go, the bamboo by bending, the plum by blooming. Choose your way of holding.

tr. Zen Lineage editorial

license: cc_by

Attribution

Lineage: Rinzai

By Sengai Gibon

Sources

  • contentZen Buddhism: A History — Volume 2: Japan

    Heinrich Dumoulin

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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