A CUP OF SAKE BENEATH THE CHERRY TREES by Kenkō (Translated by Meredith McKinney)
Kenkō was a Japanese Buddhist monk who was probably born in 1283 and probably died in 1352 (nobody knows for sure).
This pocket-sized book is one of eighty 80p ‘Little Black Classics’ and is a much reduced version of his Essays In Idleness.
Despite its 14th century provenance it has a remarkably contemporary application. It illustrates that the vanity of human wishes change little from century to century or from country to country.
“There is nothing finer than to be alone with nothing to distract you” he writes. This reminds me of a greetings card I once received containing a pearl of 21st century wisdom: “There’s nothing at all wrong with doing nothing at all”. Suffice to say that Kenkō was more than well-primed to counter any accusations that he was just a lazy sod.
The basis of his idleness is his belief that becoming absorbed in insatiable desires for more sex, wealth and even knowledge merely leaves you constantly dissatisfied. “Nothing in the world can be trusted”, he argues and furthermore “It is foolish to be in thrall to fame and fortune, engaged in painful striving all your life with never a moment of peace and tranquility”.
Fundamental to his rejection of the capitalist dream is what he calls the “transient phenomenal world”; which in plain words means that he knew that life is too short.
The acceptance of our mortality is central to his writings. His is a recognition that death is the ultimate leveler. The fear of death is the main reason why we should love life.
To achieve a state of joy he advocates living modestly cultivating as few needs as possible. “Some things are necessary for day-to-day living, but one should have nothing else”.
A cup of sake and a good book are viewed as sufficient. This extends to the severing of close human ties and becoming completely self-dependent. “The one thing a man should not have is a wife”, he affirms.
Kenkō took the Buddhist philosophy of non-attachment to extremes and his radical asceticism is unlikely to win over legions of followers.
Still, there’s plenty of wisdom in these pages and it’s a useful reference book for those seeking justifications for doing nothing.
I’ve let this blog lapse a little of late and my early resolution for 2015 is to post more regularly.
Thanks for those followers and passers-by (whoever you are) for dropping in if only for a brief encounter.
I’m constantly (and often desperately) seeking reasons for optimism and in a period when consumerism is celebrated as though happiness can be bought this is particularly hard. I was happy therefore to stumble on a moment of Zen here from Eco-philosopher and translator Joanna Macy on how Rainer Maria Rilke can help us embrace our mortality and be more fully alive:
“It’s OK not to be optimistic. …….. feeling that you have to maintain hope can wear you out, so just be present… the biggest gift you can give is to be absolutely present, and when you’re worrying about whether you’re hopeful or hopeless or pessimistic or optimistic, who cares? The main thing is that you’re showing up, that you’re here, and that you’re finding ever more capacity to love this world”.
Season’s greetings to all with the courage to show up!
I’ve let this blog lapse a little of late and my early resolution for 2015 is to post more regularly.
