The Great Matter of Life and Death

Reading

Life and death — the one great matter a person is given to face.

The time left to meet it does not pause, and moves quickly.

In the meditation hall a wooden board sounds this line at dusk and dawn, marking how fast the hours go.

It names the matter; it does not say it can be put off.

Origin

Found in the Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch (Pivotal Conditions / 行由品) as the Fifth Patriarch Hongren's words to the assembly, "for people of the world, life and death is the great matter." It also appears in the Jingde Record of the Transmission of the Lamp (vol. 5) and the Wudeng Huiyuan (vol. 2), in the section on Yongjia Xuanjue: when Yongjia comes before the Sixth Patriarch Huineng without observing the customary etiquette and is rebuked, he answers, "Life and death is the great matter; impermanence is swift." (In the source text Yongjia, the chapter's subject, is the one referred to as "the master.") It is also the line struck on the han, the sounding-board that marks time in the monastery hall.

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.