On 'Sitting Alone on the Great Peak'

doku za dai yū hō — Sitting Alone on the Great Peak.

On the origin

From the Blue Cliff Record (Hekiganroku), Case 26. A monk asks Baizhang, “What is the most marvelous thing?” Baizhang answers, “Sitting alone on the Great Peak.” The Great Peak is Mount Baizhang, where the master Baizhang Huaihai dwelled.

On the reading

Asked what is most marvelous, Baizhang answers only that he sits alone on his own peak. The extraordinary is not somewhere far off — it is in being quietly seated where one already is. When the seeking stops, the single spot beneath you becomes the Great Peak.

On the garment

The seal for this phrase was hand-carved in Tokyo by the artist Satake Hōsen. The front carries this phrase’s seal; the back and inside label carry the Hōsen seal (寳千), printed in vermilion.

The garment is Bella + Canvas 3001 (short sleeve) or Gildan 2400 (long sleeve). A vessel for the word, not the subject itself.

― hosen, tokyo