A Buddhist nun known as Ryonen was born in 1797. She was the eldest daughter of the famous Japanese warrior Shingen. Her poetic gift and rare beauty were such that at the age of 17 she served the Empress as one of the court ladies. Even at such a young age, fame awaited her.
Suddenly, the beloved empress died, and Ryonen's hopes and dreams vanished like smoke. She acutely felt the eternity of human life in this world. She decided to study Zen. However, her relatives opposed her wishes and almost forcibly married her off. She agreed to the marriage only after she was promised that after the birth of her third child she could become a nun. She was not even 25 years old when she fulfilled this condition.
After this, neither her husband nor her relatives could dissuade her.
She shaved her head, took the name Ryonen, which means “clear understanding,” and began her pilgrimage.
She came to Edo and asked Tetsugen to accept her as a student. At first glance, the teacher rejected her because she was too beautiful. Then Ryonen went to another teacher, Hakuo. He rejected her for the same reason, saying that her beauty would lead to nothing but trouble. Ryonen took the hot iron and applied it to her face. And in an instant her beauty disappeared forever. After this, Hakuo took her as his student.
Remembering this incident, Ryonen wrote a poem on the back of a small mirror:
“While serving my empress, I burned incense to make my festive clothes fragrant. Now, like a homeless beggar, I burn my face to enter the Zen temple.”
Before her death, Ryonen wrote another poem:
These eyes have seen 66 times how the picture of autumn changes. I've said a lot about moonlight, Don't ask me for more, just listen to the voices of the pines and cedars when the wind doesn't sway them.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru