If there is beauty, there must be ugliness;
If there is right, there must be wrong.
Wisdom and ignorance are complementary,
And illusion and enlightenment cannot be separated.
This is an old truth, don’t think it was discovered recently.
“I want this, I want that”
Is nothing but foolishness.
I’ll tell you a secret –
All things are impermanent!
Ryokan
from the book One Robe, One Bowl: The Zen Poetry of Ryokan
translated by John Stevens
Read a random quote or see all quotes by Ryokan.