Excerpt from Xin-xin-ming

Irin Dōhai (1615-1702) was a Sōtō Zen monk of the early Qing dynasty. He lived in Gushan (Fujian Province), China, and formed a branch of the Sōtō Zen school known as the Gushan lineage. Although he never came to Japan, Irin’s calligraphic works were greatly appreciated in Japan. Irin’s calligraphy of “Banshōzan (Mt. Banshō)” on the Sanmon (Main Gate) of Sengakuji Temple in Minato Ward, Tokyo, and “Kōtaizenji (Kōtaiji Temple)” on the Sanmon of Kōtaiji Temple in Nagasaki, show the depth of Irin’s influence and interaction with Japan.

This Bokuseki (Calligraphy) is the third and fourth verses from “Xinxin Ming (A poem by Sengacan in rhyming form of Four-character 146 verses, about the Zen doctrine of Dharma, the first founder of the Zen sect.)” written by the third founder of the Zen sect in China, Sengcan (?-606).