“In heaven and earth, I alone am the Honored One.—Tōrei”¹

 

Tōrei Enji was one of Hakuin’s most important disciples, and, as Hakuin’s successor, he systematized many of his master’s reforms to the Rinzai sect of Zen. He was also a prolific painter and calligrapher and made numerous versions of the ensō, a circular form typically made with a single brushstroke. Simultaneously full and empty, it is an important Zen symbol of nonduality and wholeness. Tōrei’s inscription quotes the Buddha, who is supposed to have made the declaration immediately following his birth. By invoking this phrase, Tōrei suggests that we all contain the Buddha nature and, like the ensō, are whole within ourselves.

 

—Bradley Bailey