Ryōkan

     Listening to the silent sound

     Of the moss-covered stream

     I feel myself grow calm and transparent

     As the soundless sound of the covered current!



"One evening a thief visited Ryōkan's hut at the base of

 the mountain only to discover there was nothing to steal.

 Ryōkan returned and caught him. "You have come a long 

way to visit me," he told the prowler, "and you should

 not return empty-handed. Please take my clothes as a 

gift." The thief was bewildered. He took the clothes

 and slunk away. Ryōkan sat naked, watching the moon.

 "Poor fellow," he mused, "I wish I could have given

 him this beautiful moon." This story may be an 

interpretation of an account mentioned by Ryōkan 

in a haiku:"





    The thief

    Left it behind-

    The moon at the window.



Zen poetry and stories had long enthralled me. I trained

 in sitting with Alan Liebman (a student of Desimaru)

 who lives and teaches Zen in Ireland.  Ryōkan's poetry 

 which reveals his playful and deeply awakened nature

 reached right into my core and a longing to visit 

Japan arose in me. Donal (my brother who had lived in

 Japan for some years)invited himself to be my guide.

 I accepted somewhat reluctantly conscious of our very 

different interests. Donal was a very deeply committed 

traditional catholic priest going back to visit his 

friends and former parishioners,and I was  searching

 for the Zen spirit.   

Ryōkan's " Gogo An" on Mt.Kugami and a Zen retreat in 

Eiheiji Temple were the focus of my trip.

When it came to visit Mt. Kugami Donal phoned the

 Local Inn (the only one within about twenty miles)

 to be told we couldn't stay there as they had never

 had foreign visitors and wouldn't know how to cope

 with us. Only when Donal reassured them by explaining

 that he had lived in Japan for along time and

 understood their customs  would they relent and 

welcome us. 

So it was thanks to my catholic brother that I got to 

visit the remote hermitage on Mt. Kugami. Thanks to him

also that we had a wonderful evening enjoying warmed Saki

(Japanese style) while reading Ryōkan's poetry.