Japan Discovery Zen words is The best word “行雲流水 Koun ryusui”
Zen is hard. And Zen words? Even harder.
So I go ahead and make up my own meanings—and I like them just fine.I like to think that Master Huineng, Dōgen, Ikkyū, and Ryōkan would nod gently and say, “That’s fine. That’s fine. Let it be, my friend.”
Today is “ Koun Ryusu" It means “Clouds move freely, and water flows freely. Have a free mind like that.
Clouds move freely, and water flows freely
In the 11th century, during the Northern Song Dynasty in China, there was a famous calligrapher named Su Shi. Su Shi taught his disciple Xie Minshi, “When writing, let your brush flow naturally, like clouds moving through the sky, like water flowing through a river." It is important to let your brush flow without thinking about how well you can write or how others can praise you. This teaching gave birth to the Zen phrase “ｋounryusui" (Xie Minshi’s Pro-Official Writings)
When people see the scenery of clouds moving through the sky or a river with gushing water, their hearts feel refreshed. They want to drift freely like clouds. They want to flow freely like water. But people can’t be like clouds or water. People are always bound by worries. Will they pass tomorrow’s exam? Can they pay off their loan this month? How can they make up for the income lost due to COVID? They’re tied up with worries.
Here is a man with a problem. White clouds in the sky and a cool, rapid sound echoing from the river. The man tries to forget his troubles for just now and let nature take over, but it doesn’t work. The clouds float by as if they don’t know how the man feels. There’s no way the sound of the rapids will give him a solution to his troubles. The man is at his wits’ end, not knowing what to do.
The clouds drift with the wind, and the water flows, even as it hits the rocks and stones. The clouds and water don’t stop. The clouds have their own path for the wind, and the water has a place to flow. In the same way, there is always a solution to your troubles. However, the man is obsessed with something and can’t see it. He is caught up in various things, such as appearances, reputation, likes and dislikes, past glory, and has forgotten how to be natural.
If you can let go of such obsessions and become natural, there is another path, just like the clouds and water flowing freely. If you have the time to look at the leisurely white clouds and the freely flowing water, you will find the answer. Let go of your obsessions and try to be natural; that is the teaching of ”行雲流水 Kounryusui.”
Let nature take its course
He went to China and spent five years studying Buddhism in zazen, but there was nothing about Buddhism. However, the person’s eyes are two side by side and his nose is vertical, which I have clearly seen. No matter who says it, I’m not fooled. See the world as it is, as it is. There was no other Buddhist mystery other than this
Dogen Zenji from Rinko Net
“There is no such thing as Buddhism. All I know is that we have two eyes and a vertical nose," Zen Master Dogen told his disciples. Zen Master Dogen was a high priest who founded the Soto sect of Zen Buddhism. This high priest said there was no Buddhism. His disciples must have been very surprised.
It is true that we do have two eyes lined up next to each other and a vertical nose. People are created by nature and have substance. Buddhism is created by humans and has no substance. There is no need to be trapped by Buddhism and worry. If you look at the world as it is, you will find the answer. That’s because Buddhism is found in nature. A hard truth hidden in humorous words, as you would expect from a high priest.
禅語は最高 「行雲流水」 自然体で行こう
禅は難しいし禅語も難しい。だから勝手に解釈して勝手に良いと思っている。慧能禅師や道元禅師、一休さんや良寛さんも「それで良い、それで良い、Let it be じゃ」と言ってくれそうな気がする。
今日は「行雲流水」である。
こだわりを捨てる
11世紀、中国は北宋の時代、蘇軾という高名な書家がいた。蘇軾は弟子の謝民師に「書を書くときは雲が空を行くように、川の水が流れるように自然に筆を走らせるのだ」と教えた。上手く書こうとか他人から褒められたいと思わず無心で筆を走らせることが大切なのだ。この教えから行雲流水という禅語が生まれた（謝民師推官与書）
人は空を流れる雲や水が迸る渓流の風景を見ると心が爽やかになる。雲のように気ままに漂いたい。水のように自由に流れたい。だが人は雲や水のようにはできない。人はいつも悩みに縛られている。明日の試験に合格できるか。今月のローンの返済はできるか。コロナで減った収入をどう補うか。心配事でがんじがらめだ。
ここに悩みを抱えた男が一人いる。空には白い雲、川からは涼やかな瀬音が響いてくる。男は、今だけでも悩みを忘れて自然に身をまかそうとするが上手くいかない。そんな男の気持ちを知らないように雲は漂っている。瀬音から男の悩みの解決策が聞こえてくる筈もない。いったいどうしたらよいのか、男は頭を抱えてしまう。
雲は風まかせで漂い、水は岩や石に当たりながらも流れている。雲や水は止まらない。雲には風の道があり、水には流れる場所がある。同じように悩みの解決法は必ずあるのだ。ただ男は何かにこだわりそれが見えなくなっている。見栄や評判、好き嫌い、過去の栄光、色々なものに捕らわれ自然体を忘れているのだ。
そんなこだわりを捨て自然体になれば、雲や水が融通無碍に流れるようにまた違う道がある。悠々とした白雲や自在に流れる水を眺める余裕があれば答えは見つかる。こだわりを捨て自然体を心がけよう、それが行雲流水の教えである。
自然に身をまかせよう
中国に渡り、五年間も坐禅をして仏法の勉強してきたけれど、仏法なんてものは何もなかった。ただ、目は横に二つ並んでおり鼻は縦にある、これだけははっきり見てきた。誰が何と言ってもだまされん。ありのままの世界を、ありのままに見る。このこと以外に仏法なぞというものはなかった。
道元禅師 臨黄ネット
「仏法などなかった、わかったのは目が二つと鼻が縦にあるだけだった」と道元禅師は弟子たちに言った。道元禅師は曹洞宗を開いた高僧である。その高僧が仏法がないと言う。弟子たちはさぞ驚いただろう。
たしかに目は二つ並んでいるし鼻は縦にある。人は自然が作ったものであり実体が存在する。仏法は人が作ったもので実体がない。仏法に捕らわれ悩むことは無い。世界をありのままに見れば答えはある。仏法は自然のなかにあるからだ。ユーモラスな言葉の中に厳然とした真実、さすが高僧である。