Ikkyu Sojun

It is nice to get a glimpse of a lady bathing--
You scrubbed your flower face and cleansed your lovely body
...

A master’s handiwork cannot be measured
But still priests wag their tongues explaining the “Way” and babbling about “Zen.”
...

The tree was barren of leaves but you brought a new spring.
Long green sprouts, verdant flowers, fresh promise.
...

Exhausted with gay pleasures, I embrace my wife.
The narrow path of asceticism is not for me:
My mind runs in the opposite direction.
...

The world before my eyes is wan and wasted, just like me.
The earth is decrepit, the sky stormy, all the grass withered.
...

Why are people called Buddhas
After they die?
Because they don't grumble any more,
Because they don't make a nuisance
...

Studying texts and stiff meditation can make you lose your Original Mind.
A solitary tune by a fisherman, though, can be an invaluable treasure.
...

Lots of arms, just like Kannon the Goddess;
Sacrificed for me, garnished with citron, I revere it so!
The taste of the sea, just divine!
...