Nichi nichi kore kōnichi

Nichi nichi kore kōnichi (日々是好日) also pronounced "hibi kore kõjitsu" is a Chinese-Japanese Zen Buddhist proverb at least 1.100 years old which means "Every day is a good day", or "All days are good days". It was Zen Master Yunmen's answer in the sixth case of the koan collection Hekiganroku.^[1][2][3] It has been presented by some Zen masters (notably, Kodo-Sawaki and his disciple Taisen Deshimaru)^[4] as a kōan, that is, a statement that appears contradictory to rationality but that can be grasped through intuition. It was a favorite saying of the avant-garde composer John Cage.

"Every day is a good day."

References

1. ^ Katsuki Sekida, "Two Zen Classics: Mumonkan, Hekiganroku." Weatherhill, 1977. ISBN 0-8348-0130-2.
2. ^ Thomas Cleary and J.C. Cleary, "Blue Cliff Record". Shambala, Boston/London, 2005. ISBN 087773-622-7. Originally published in 1977.
3. ^ Urs App, "Master Yunmen". Kodansha, 1994. ISBN 1-56836-004-5
4. ^ Taisen Deshimaru, La Pratique Du Zen

External links

• John Cage reference