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生死事大
The Great Matter of Life and Death
しょうじじだい · shou ji ji dai
¥6,980$70.00€65.00
An impression from a seal hand-carved in Tokyo, printed on a garment.
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寶千印 · Tokyo · 2026
- Made to order
- Printed one at a time
- Shipping
- Shipping included; available destinations shown at checkout.
- Original seal
- Hand-carved in Tokyo
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
The original seal is hand-carved in Tokyo by the artist Satake Hōsen. Its impression is reproduced as a print on the garment.
篆刻 — 佐竹 寶千 朱印
Specifications
- Garment
- Short sleeve: Bella + Canvas 3001 / Long sleeve: Gildan 2400 (Ultra Cotton)
- 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. Check the measurements rather than the size letter.
Journal
On this word (Journal) →On the same theme
