“Unmon said ‘REVEALED!’—brushed by the old fellow Gesshū.”¹

Though not technically a painter, the Zen abbot Gesshū Sōkō nevertheless made calligraphies that were highly prized for their beautiful script and clever composition. In this work, Gesshū cites the tenth-century Chinese monk Unmon, who was famous for his one-word replies to questions, many of which were taught as koans. The central character, ro, liter­ally means “raindrop” but also connotes the perfect clarity of a water droplet, associated with revelation. Unmon famously replied “ro,” or “it’s perfectly clear,” to a disciple’s query: “If we kill our parents we may repent before Buddha, but if we kill Buddha, to whom do we repent?”

 

—Bradley Bailey