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Famous Yoshida Kenko Quotes

“If we lived forever, if the dews of Adashino never vanished, if the crematory smoke on Toribeyama never faded, men would hardly feel the pity of things. The beauty of life is in its impermanence. Man lives the longest of all living things... and even one year lived peacefully seems very long. Yet for such as love the world, a thousand years would fade like the dream of one night.”

IfsMenWorldFeelsYearsLongDreamSeemsLife IsNightForeverThousandPitySmokeHuman ConditionFadesThousand YearsLiving ThingsOne NightDewImpermanenceFadedBeauty Of LifeNever Fade
Author:Yoshida Kenko
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“In everything, no matter what it may be, uniformity is undesirable. Leaving something incomplete makes it interesting, and gives one the feeling that there is room for growth. Someone once told me, "Even when building the imperial palace, they always leave one place unfinished." In both Buddhist and Confucian writings of the philosophers of former times, there are also many missing chapters.”

GivingWritingMayMatterFeelingsGrowthInterestingRoomsMissingBuildingNo Matter WhatLeavingPhilosopherBuddhistFormerChaptersPalacesIncompleteUnfinishedUniformityUndesirableConfucian
Author:Yoshida Kenko
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“Are we to look at cherry blossoms only in full bloom, the moon only when it is cloudless? To long for the moon while looking on the rain, to lower the blinds and be unaware of the passing of the spring - these are even more deeply moving. Branches about to blossom or gardens strewn with flowers are worthier of our admiration.”

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Author:Yoshida Kenko
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