Soen Nakagawa Roshi (1907-1984)
In his "Preface" to Endless Vow: The Zen Path of Soen Nakagawa (presented with an Introduction by Eido Tai Shimano, Shambhala 1996) Kazuaki Tanahashi writes: "Zen Master Soen Nakagawa was a key figure in the transmission of Zen Buddhism from Japan to the Western world. As abbot of the historic Ryutaku Monastery, he trained monks and lay practitioners. Among them were Robert Aitken and Philip Kapleau, who later became two of the first Westerners to teach Zen in the United States... Soen Nakagawa was also an extraordinary poet. In Japan his haiku are renowned, even though no substantial collection of his work has been made available to the general public."
Endless Vow moves me every time I open it (I used to have three copies of this book, one by my pillow, one in my office, and one in my truck). I will be updating this page.
Gratitude!
tears melting into
mountain snowMarch 11, 1931
How solemn
each patch of grass
illumined by the moonAutumn 1932
Having entered monastery
I now know
my life is less than a dewdropAutumn 1932
Splendid affinity
sun's great halo
green leavesMay 5, 1933
Straw sandals tossed aside
approaching distant mountain slopes
haze!Spring 1935
Bowing to Hakuin's Stupa at Ryutaku-ji in Mishima
Endless is my vow
under the azure sky
boundless autumnAutumn 1937
May this maple leaf
from Hakuin's stupa
cross the oceanAutumn 1937
On the occasion of the Death of Inido Sensei
One note of the shakuhaci
resounds endlessly
piercing the winter cloudsWinter 1938
A nun has come to visit
now in the moonlight
how bright the icicles!Winter 1938
Disappearing
snow on mountain peak
unfurls a rainbowApril 1938
Spring approaches
the Pacific Ocean
will be my sitting matMarch 1949
Vast emptiness
as the year comes to a close
I re-enter the mountainDecember 1949
Your slightest sorrow --
how dense the summer forest! --
my sorrow deepensSummer 1949
Wisteria blossoms
fading
saha worldSpring 1953
Step by step
a new-born lamb
eternal springSpring 1955