“Fashion a solid bridge in your heart and others, too, will be able to cross over.”¹

Images of traveling monks crossing bridges and rivers abound in Zen painting and in Hakuin’s works, which is only natural given Hakuin’s many years spent as an itinerant monk. The notion of crossing a bridge also relates to the Zen Buddhist concept of transcending the realm of blind ignorance to one of Buddhist enlightenment, drawing a potent and meaningful parallel between the physical journey of travel and the internal journey of meditation. As Hakuin’s inscription states, the undertaking of such journeys, whether literal or mental, facilitates the journey to enlightenment, adding another layer of meaning and significance to the harrowing trip of the lone figure on the bridge at Mama.

—Bradley Bailey