On 'Touch the Flower, the Scent Fills the Robe'

rou ka kou man i — Touch the Flower, the Scent Fills the Robe.

On the origin

From the Tang poet Yu Liangshi’s poem “Spring Mountain, Moonlit Night” (春山夜月): “Cup the water and the moon rests in your hand; touch the flowers and their scent fills your robe.” Later taken up in the Chan/Zen records as a teaching line.

On the reading

Touch the flower, and its scent has already filled the robe. Nothing was taken; nearness alone leaves the trace. The line pairs with “cup the water and the moon rests in the hand.” For a moment the distance between the thing and the one who meets it falls away.

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