“One character cannot be seen even with two eyes and one roar that is not yet a hundred claps of thunder. Inscribed in the 10,000 Pine Zen Cave in Ōshū by the 70-year-old Gōchō.

Spring 1818, painted upon request by the 76-year-old Lazy Ox.”

 

Chingyū Zuikō painted this work as a commission during a visit from Gōchō, who added his own callig­raphy to the painting. Chingyū painted numerous versions of Kanzan and Jittoku, though this example is distinct, showing the beloved pair reading from an apparently blank scroll. As Gōchō’s inscription suggests, Kanzan and Jittoku have a deep understanding of Zen that transcends the written word; it also points out that, in Zen, a thunderous flash of enlightenment can occur at any moment, building from a single roar to a deafening sound. The notion of sudden enlight­enment is a hallmark of Zen teaching, which eschews the rigid programs of other forms of Buddhism.

 

—Bradley Bailey