Shumpo Soki

"My sword leans against the sky. With its polished blade I'll behead The Buddha and all of his saints. Let the lightning strike where it will."

"At times I supported the sky, at times the earth; At times I turned into a dragon, at times to a snake. I wandered at will through the cycles of life and of death. All the fathers of our faith I took into my mouth. I give as I will and I take as I will. I slash the leopard with my teeth; My spirit smashes mountains."

"No single bone in my body is holy - It is but an ash heap of stinking bones. Dig a deep hole and there bury these remains Thus, not a grain of dust will stain The green mountains."

"Shunpo Soki was a Zen priest of the Rinzai sect. A disciple of the Daitokuji priest Yoso Soi (1376-1458), Shunpo became the fortieth abbot of Daitokuji and was famous for his efforts in reconstructing the temple in the aftermath of the devastation of the (1467-77)."