“There can be no world of the Buddha without the world of the devil. And the world of the devil is the world difficult of entry. It is not for the weak of heart.”

—  Yasunari Kawabata

Japan, the Beautiful and Myself (1969)
Context: I myself have two specimens of Ikkyu's calligraphy. One of them is a single line: "It is easy to enter the world of the Buddha, it is hard to enter the world of the devil." Much drawn to these words, I frequently make use of them when asked for a specimen of my own calligraphy. They can be read in any number of ways, as difficult as one chooses, but in that world of the devil added to the world of the Buddha, Ikkyu of Zen comes home to me with great immediacy. The fact that for an artist, seeking truth, good, and beauty, the fear and petition even as a prayer in those words about the world of the devil — the fact that it should be there apparent on the surface, hidden behind, perhaps speaks with the inevitability of fate. There can be no world of the Buddha without the world of the devil. And the world of the devil is the world difficult of entry. It is not for the weak of heart.

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "There can be no world of the Buddha without the world of the devil. And the world of the devil is the world difficult o…" by Yasunari Kawabata?
Yasunari Kawabata photo
Yasunari Kawabata 44
Japanese author, Nobel Prize winner 1899–1972

Related quotes

David Lipscomb photo

“Human government, the embodied effort of man to rule the world without God, ruled over by "the prince of this world," the devil.”

David Lipscomb (1831–1917) Leader, American Restoration Movement

Source: Civil Government : Its Origin, Mission, and Destiny (1889), p. 73
Context: Human government, the embodied effort of man to rule the world without God, ruled over by "the prince of this world," the devil. Its mission is to execute wrath and vengeance here on earth. Human government bears the same relation to hell as the church bears to heaven.

Hugo Chávez photo

“The Devil is right at home. The Devil, the Devil himself, is right in the house.
And the Devil came here yesterday. Yesterday the Devil came here. Right here. [crosses himself] And it smells of sulphur still today.
Yesterday, ladies and gentlemen, from this rostrum, the president of the United States, the gentleman to whom I refer as the Devil, came here, talking as if he owned the world. Truly. As the owner of the world.”

Hugo Chávez (1954–2013) 48th President of Venezuela

Speech at the U.N. in which he referred to George W. Bush as the Devil, (September 2006), as quoted in "Chavez's colourful quotations" at BBC News (12 November 2007) http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7090600.stm
2006

Stefan Molyneux photo

“Women worship at the feet of the devil and wonder why the world is evil.”

Stefan Molyneux (1966) libertarian philosopher, writer, speaker, and online broadcaster

"The Matriarchal Lineage of Corruption" https://vimeo.com/119085990, The Freedomain Radio Call In Show with Stefan Molyneux (January 8, 2014)

Miguel de Cervantes photo

“You are a devil at everything, and there is no kind of thing in the 'versal world but what you can turn your hand to.”

Miguel de Cervantes (1547–1616) Spanish novelist, poet, and playwright

Source: Don Quixote de la Mancha (1605–1615), Part I, Book III, Ch. 11.

Arthur Schopenhauer photo

“For the world is Hell, and men are on the one hand the tormented souls and on the other the devils in it.”

Arthur Schopenhauer (1788–1860) German philosopher
Rudyard Kipling photo

“And the first rude sketch that the world has seen
was joy to his mighty heart,
Till the Devil whispered behind the leaves, "It's pretty, but is it art?”

Rudyard Kipling (1865–1936) English short-story writer, poet, and novelist

The Conundrum of the Workshops, Stanza 1 (1890).
Other works
Source: The Barrack-Room Ballads and Other Verses
Context: When the flush of a new-born sun fell first on Eden's green and gold,
Our father Adam sat under the Tree and scratched with a stick in the mould;
And the first rude sketch that the world had seen was joy to his mighty heart,
Till the Devil whispered behind the leaves, “It's pretty, but is it Art?”

Oscar Wilde photo

“We are each our own devil, and we make this world our hell.”

Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) Irish writer and poet

Source: The Duchess of Padua

Elbert Hubbard photo

“I rather like the World. The Flesh is pleasing and the Devil does not trouble me.”

Elbert Hubbard (1856–1915) American writer, publisher, artist, and philosopher fue el escritor del jarron azul

Preface to Love Ballads of the Sixteenth Century (1897) http://books.google.com/books?id=hAiaEy_NVoEC&q="I+rather+like+the+world+The+flesh+is+pleasing+and+the+Devil+does+not+trouble+me"&pg=PA5#v=onepage.
Context: Most Authors cringe and flatter and Fish for compliments. If they fail to get Applause, they say the World is a Scurvy Place and those who dwell therein a Dirty Lot: if they succeed, they give thanks to Nobody, saying they got only what their Meritt entitles them to. But I rather like the World. The Flesh is pleasing and the Devil does not trouble me.

Mwanandeke Kindembo photo

“If the devil was really the master of the world, we would be dead before we knew it. He is also a citizen of the world, just like us.”

Mwanandeke Kindembo (1996) Congolese author

Related topics