Ikkyu Poem

To My Daughter

Even among beauties she is a precious pearl;
A little princess in this sorry world.
She is the inevitable result of true love,
And a Zen master is no match for her!
Rinzai’s disciples never got the Zen message,
But I, the Blind Donkey, know the truth:
Love play can make you immortal.
The autumn breeze of a single night of love is
better than a hundred thousand years of sterile sitting meditation.
Monks these days study hard in order to turn
A fine phrase and win fame as talented poets.
At Crazy Cloud’s hut there is no such talent, but he serves up the taste of truth
As he boils rice in a wobbly old cauldron.

-Ikkyu

The life and poetry of Ikkyu, from Wild Ways: Zen Poems of Ikkyu, translated by John Stevens and published by White Pine Press