“All the virtue is not in the future. The old mirror and the stable platform are shattered. ‘Whenever! Whenever!’ He makes Amida Buddha blossom all at once in this world.— Respectfully inscribed by Zenne. Painted by the old monk Futo.”¹

The Chinese monk Bukan (Fenggan, in Chinese) is typically shown with his pet tiger, here suggested by the paw prints at lower left. Bukan is the embodiment of an eccentric Zen monk whose wisdom is often expressed in strange or confounding acts. Suiō treats the monk as a humble figure with a massive robe and walking stick. Gessen’s inscription suggests that one need not wait for the afterlife to see the virtues and beauty of the Pure Land, which is inhabited by Amida Buddha. Instead, Gessen quotes Bukan, who shouts that it can be experienced “Whenever! Whenever!”

 

—Bradley Bailey