Attaining a Great Enlightenment upon Hearing the Sound of a Bamboo Hit by a Stone

Yamaguchi Sekkei (1648-1732) was an ink painter influenced by the Kanō school. He was also known as Hakuin and Baian. He is said to have been named after Sesshū and Muqi, two of the most famous ink painters in Japan and China, respectively. Among his representative works are the paintings on the walls of Shunpōin, Hōrin’in, and Genkōan Temple, “Kaede Sakurazu byōbu” (Daigoji Temple), and “Shōshō Hakkeizu byōbu” (Art Institute of Chicago).

Manzan Dōhaku (1636-1715) was a Sōtō Zen monk of the mid-Edo period. He was born in Bingo Province. He succeeded to the Dharma of Gesshū Sōko, and in Enpō 8 (1680) succeeded Gesshū as the 27th head of Daijōji Temple in Kaga. After 10 years, he left the temple and went to Kōzenji Temple in Settsu and Zenjōji Temple in Yamashiro before opening Genkōan Temple in Kyoto. In Genroku 13 (1700), together with Baihō Jikushin and others, he appealed to the magistrate for temples and shrines to make sure that the sect’s lineage was not disturbed, which led to the enactment of the Eiheiji Temple and Sōjiji Temple Hatto (laws) in Genroku 16 (1703). Since then, he has called himself “Fukko Rōjin.” He is regarded as the founder of the Sōtō sect’s revival.

This painting is by Xiangyan Chihan (?-898), a monk of the Tang Dynasty. While cleaning the house one day, a pebble suddenly flew over and hit a bamboo stick, and Xiangyan was enlightened by the sound. This is a praise (Seven-character Quatrain) from Manzan’s final year, in Shōtoku 5 (1715), he was 80 years old.

This painting is a collaboration between a leading painter of the day and a Zen monk.