Capping Phrases

Chisoku

知足

‘Chisoku’ means ‘I know my lot.' Or 'In possession of enough'. In other words, 'I do not lament unfulfilled desire; I know, and rejoice in living according to the necessities of life’. There is no end to the things you can desire, so be content in your current situation and experience the happiness that comes from freeing yourself of want.

At Ryōanji temple in Kyoto there is a famous tsukubai known as ‘The Chisoku Tsukubai’. There are 4 raised kanji in the surface of the tsukubai (fresh water basin) that read: 'ware tada taru koto o shiru’ 吾　唯　足　知　

＿|五|＿

矢 □ 隹

￣|止|￣

The 4 kanji share the square in the middle of the tsukubai to complete the square part of their stroke composition. This square also doubles as the basin that contains the water.

Image: MichaelMaggs (Own work) via Wikimedia Commons

Genpū

玄風
Genpū　

Phenomena that moves you, or gives you a glipse of ‘yūgen’ (yūgen is a Chinese concept that refers to the aesthetic experience of profundity: feeling the trascendental, and being moved by the deepest truth of things - truth that cannot be captured in words).

Image: @minenomatsu

Ikujyaku

憶昔

憶 = to reminisce 昔 = the past. Ikujyaku is the name of a National Treasure teahouse in the building ‘Hiunkaku’ on the precincts of Nishi Hongan-ji or 'Western Temple of the Original Vow', the head temple of Jōdo Shinshū Pure Land Buddhism in Kyoto.

The teahouse Ikujyaku was originally built on the precinct of Jyurakudai in Kyoto. Jyurakudai was Chief Advisor to the Emperor, Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s centre of power.

Temple Bell

Resonating Dawn

暁鐘

Gyōshō

暁 = first light 鐘 = temple bell. ‘Gyōshō’ is the sound of a temple bell resounding at first light. It is a word also used metaphorically to mean the beginning of a new era.

Image: @minenomatsu

Unyū

雲遊　

雲 = cloud 遊 = frolic. 雲 ‘un’ means cloud and is often used to refer to monks . Clouds travel across the sky with no attachment, and monks travel across this existence with no attachment. Unyū is a monk making pilgrimages around Japan, not settling at one place.

Image: @minenomatsu

Ichiyō raifuku

一陽来復

The longest night of the year is the winter solstice which falls around the 22nd of December (21st June in the Southern Hemisphere). The solstice is the height of yin days, and at the same time it hails the return of yang energy, called ‘ichi yō’. From this day the length of daylight, and yang energy, gradually increases. It is a day to celebrate the coming of Spring.

In zen practice, the winter solstice is marked with a period of zazen called ‘tōji tōya’. In the usual runnings of temple life, monks that break rules are punished with ‘san jyū san bō’, or 33 strikes of a wooden stick. Only on the day of the winter solstice, this punishment is lifted. The strict rules of temple life are relaxed as the oncoming Spring, and increase in yang energy are celebrated.

After the long winter nights and hardship, welcoming the joy of increased light and activity is ‘raifuku’. 'Ichiyō raifuku' is therefore a celebration of the moment the world shifts into a greater yang balance, and the hope for prosperity it suggests.

Prostration

土下座

Dogeza

Nature is the most fundamental thing of all. Humans are but one small part of Nature. As we humans cannot live without Nature, as we humans are sustained only by the blessing of Nature, Nature is the great source of compassion towards which we must direct our reverent hearts.

Image: Ivan Kovac

Capping Phrases

Capping phrases are use in kōan practice, mostly in the Rinzai Sect of Zen. I think they are also suitable for use as poetic names for chashaku, though must be used with great discernment and consideration of your guests. The capping phrases presented here are all from the masterful work 'Zen Sand - The Book of Capping Phrases for Kōan Practice' by Victor Sōgen Hori. A truly excellent piece of scholarship.

Light has no front nor back.

光明無背面

Kōmyō haimen nashi

- from the Shinsan Zengoshu