On 'Permanence, Bliss, Self, Purity'

jou raku ga jou — Permanence, Bliss, Self, Purity.

On the origin

From the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra (Nirvana Sutra): the four virtues of nirvana — permanence, bliss, self, and purity.

On the reading

The four virtues said to belong to nirvana. Constant, where nothing passes; at ease, beyond suffering; a self unbound by grasping; pure, without stain. Words once held to be errors of seeing, turned around — read from the far side of awakening, they name the place where nothing more is lacking.

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