Sengai

"He who comes knows only his coming, He who goes knows only his end. To be saved from the chasm, Why cling to the cliff? Clouds floating low Never know where the breezes will blow them."

"Young bride Be alive till they say to you Die! Die!"

"If you say, 'Come back later', He will speedily come to snatch you away. Say rather, 'I shall not be in till I'm ninety-nine'"."

"Sengai Gibon (1750-1837) was an artistic Zen monk of importance, who took "a transcendental view of things that are relative and limited. One eye was turned deeply inward, while the other looked out with concern to catch the fleeting shadows of our earthly life.""

"In 1837, when Sengai Gibon was asked by one of his students if he had anything to say before passing away, he replied, “I don't want to die.""

"Suzuki often cited the work of Japanese Zen monk Sengai Gibon (1750–1837), whose painting Circle, Triangle, and Square he saw as the embodiment of the universe. Suzuki interpreted Sengai’s three fundamental forms as geometries of formlessness and infinity, which underscored his own view of emptiness as the essence of Zen enlightenment. This scroll has fascinated people ever since. Rather than a single level of black or gray, the ink tones keep changing. The forms overlap just a bit, suggesting interconnections between these fundamental shapes."

"’s (b. 1935) Triangle, Circle, Square quotes from Sengai’s famous 18th-century Buddhist painting. His early work of the 1960s, including music, performance, and writing as well as sculptural and conceptual works, was impacted by his exposure to Zen-informed thinking. De Maria developed an interest in task-oriented, game-like projects that resulted in viewer-interactive sculptures."