Extreme Goodness
Whether it rains or shines, the water lilies will bloom.
Whether I live in the mountains or woods, I will live and die as those before me.
Thus, with boundless amusement, I live out each day as if a lifetime,
The joy of aging lies in deeds of extreme goodness.
Twelfth Century samurai warrior, Zen practitioner, and poet Saigyo (1118–1190)
至善
晴にあらず 雨にあらず 睡蓮の天
山にあらず 林にあらず 在家の仙
一日を一生として 興究まりなし
老楽は唯至善を行うに在り
西行
English translation by Norie Lynn Fukuda-Matsushima (chief translator/copy editor for LOCAL FOCUS)
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