Be a Lamp Unto Yourself

Reading

Make of yourself a lamp; take yourself as the refuge.

Make of the teaching a lamp; take the teaching as the refuge.

Seek no other light, lean on nothing outside these two.

Asked what would remain to rely on once the teacher was gone, this was the answer left behind.

Origin

Attributed to the Buddha's final instruction to Ānanda before his passing. A corresponding passage appears in the Chinese Dīrgha Āgama, "Sūtra of the Last Journey" (遊行経; Taishō vol. 1, p. 15), and it is transmitted in the Pāli Mahāparinibbāna Sutta (Dīgha Nikāya). The original dīpa can be read as "island" (a refuge) or as "lamp"; Chinese renderings vary — the Saṃyukta Āgama uses "island," the Dīrgha Āgama "to kindle," while the familiar "lamp" reading is a later, widely adopted gloss.

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.