Calligraphy by Zen Master Oki Sogen of Zen Koan "As the Fragrant Breeze Comes from the South (薫風自南来)"

[Iaido dude]

 

Oki Sogen (大森 曹玄) was the third abbot of Ryōbozen-an, a sub-temple within the Myōshin-ji school of the Rinzai sect of Zen Buddhism. The temple's formal name includes the mountain name Garyūzan. Myōshin-ji, located in Kyoto, Japan, is the head temple for the largest branch of Rinzai Zen Buddhism, with over 3,000 affiliated temples.

 

The inscription is a famous line from an account of the enlightenment experience of Dahui Zonggao (大慧宗杲, 1089–1163) in an encounter with his master Yuanwu Keqin, which also serves as a Zen koan^1,2:

 

"Master Yuanwu ascended the high seat in the lecture hall at the request of Madame Chang K'ang-kuo (張康國夫人). He said, "Once a monk asked Yunmen this question, 'Where do all the Buddhas come from?' Yunmen answered. 'The East Mountain walks on the water' (Tung-shan shuei sheng hsing).³ But if I were him, I would have given a different answer. 'Where do all the Buddhas come from (諸佛皆出自何處)? As the fragrant breeze comes from the south, a slight coolness naturally stirs in the palace pavilion (薫風自南来).'  When I heard this, all of a sudden there was no more before and after. Time stopped. I ceased to feel any disturbance in my mind, and remained in a state of utter calmness."

 

Yuanwu was quoting the conclusion verse from a poetry contest in which Emperor Wenzong of the Tang dynasty wrote an introduction verse stating, "Others suffer from the scorching heat, but I love the long summer days (別人受酷暑之苦，我愛夏日長日)." The poet Liu Gongquan then composed the conclusion verse, which Yuanwu quotes as his preferred answer to "Where do all te Buddhas come from?."

 

The story highlights the Zen principle that enlightenment is not found through intellectual study or dogmatic answers, but through direct, immediate experience of the self-evident nature of truth. Just as one doesn't need to be told a southern breeze is cool, the reality of the Dharma is something to be directly experienced, not intellectually understood through words or concepts. We live our lives obsessed with gain and loss, caught up in self-interest, biased toward love and hate, and right and wrong, and we are driven back and forth by the dichotomous biases of the discriminating mind. Koan study is intended to induce the "Great Death," which severs us from this duality.

 

¹Chun-Fang Yu, "Ta-hui Tsung-kao and Kung-an Ch'an." Journal of Chinese Philosophy V. 6 (1979) pp. 211-235

²Case 92 in "Entangling Vines: A Classic Collection of Zen Koans" (2013)

³Ibid, Case 49

Edited December 12, 2025 by Iaido dude