Portrait of Yinyuan Longqi 隱元隆琦 (Jp. Ingen Ryūki, 1592-1673)
Tradition of Kita Genki 喜多元規 (active c. 1663-1709)
Eulogy by Muan Xingtao 木菴性瑫 (Jp. Mokuan Shōtō, 1611-1684), 1676
Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)
Hanging scroll, ink and color on silk
119.4 x 57.8 cm; 193.7 x 71 cm (mounted)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Purchase: Brooke Russell Astor Bequest, 2015, 2015.3
Holding his stick, he points directly to man,
Yet, originally without form, this portrait is not true,
His form cannot be seen as form,
His benevolence is merely his natural benevolence,
If, all of a sudden, you can understand this law,
Then your spirit can roam beyond this world.
—trans. Stephen Addiss and Kwan S. Wong
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