The Four Sacred Verses of Bodhidharma

ふりゅうもんじきょうげべつでんじきしにんしんけんしょうじょうぶつ · furyuu monji kyouge betsuden jikishi ninshin kenshou joubutsu

Reading

There is something handed on outside the scriptures, not carried by words.

Letters are the finger, never the moon.

It is not received from elsewhere; it already rests in the mind as it is.

See into one's own nature, and the buddha is found nowhere apart.

Origin

The four verses that state the marrow of the Chan/Zen school — "a transmission outside the teachings; not founded on words and letters; pointing directly at the human mind; seeing one's nature and becoming a buddha." Traditionally ascribed to Bodhidharma; as a set of four the formula appears in the Song-dynasty Chan glossary Zuting shiyuan (compiled by Muan Shanqing, 1108). Not a direct quotation from a single sutra, but a phrasing handed down as Bodhidharma's.

Seal

Cut by hand in Tokyo by the artist. The angle of the blade and the depth of the stroke decide where the ink bleeds and where it holds. No imprint repeats.

篆刻 — 佐竹寶千　朱印

Specifications

Garment: Short sleeve: Bella + Canvas 3001 / Long sleeve: Gildan 2400 (Ultra Cotton)
Print: DTG print — front: the seal; back & inside label: 寳千 / Vermilion
Size: S · M · L · XL
Price: ¥6,980$70.00€65.00

Size guide

Short sleeve · Bella + Canvas 3001

Size	Length	Chest width
S	71 / 28.0	46 / 18.1
M	74 / 29.1	51 / 20.1
L	76 / 29.9	56 / 22.0
XL	79 / 31.1	61 / 24.0

Long sleeve · Gildan 2400

Size	Length	Chest width	Sleeve
S	71 / 28.0	46 / 18.1	85 / 33.5
M	74 / 29.1	51 / 20.1	89 / 35.0
L	76 / 29.9	56 / 22.0	93 / 36.6
XL	79 / 31.1	61 / 24.0	97 / 38.2

Garment measured flat, in cm / inches. Slight variation occurs between pieces. Sizes follow Japanese garment standards — check the measurements rather than the letter.