Nichinichi kore kōnichi

"Every day is a good day"

Nichinichi kore kōnichi (Japanese: 日々是好日) (Chinese: 日日是好日; pinyin: Rìrì shì hǎorì) is a Zen Buddhist proverb. It has been presented by some Zen masters (notably, Kōdō Sawaki and his disciple Taisen Deshimaru).[1] It was a favorite saying of the avant-garde composer John Cage, featured in Song Books (1970) as "Solo for Voice 64". It is also known as Unmen's Good Days (雲門好日) and Unmen's 15 Days (雲門十五日).[2][3][4]

Context

The phrase comes from Yunmen Wenyan's answer in the sixth case of the kōan collection Blue Cliff Record.[5][6][7][8]

舉雲門垂語云：「十五日已前不問汝，十五日已後道將一句來。」
Yunmen said, "I will not ask you anything before the fifteenth day. After the fifteenth day, tell me one sentence."
自代云：「日日是好日。」
He said to himself, "Every day is a good day."

Readings

As a Zen word in Japanese, the correct way to read the phrase is Nichinichi kore kōnichi.[9] It can also be read as Nichinichi kore kōjitsu and Hibi kore kōjitsu;[10] there are also examples of it being read as Hibi kore kōnichi.

Nichinichi kore kōnichi literally translates to "every day is a good day"[11][12], meaning "try to spend every day meaningfully".[13]

References

  1. ^ Taisen Deshimaru (1 October 1981). La Pratique du Zen (in French). ISBN 978-2226012876.
  2. ^ 広瀬大輔. "禅語を味わう 日々是好日" (in Japanese). 小林山達磨寺. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
  3. ^ "心の杖 2004年9月 日々是好日" (in Japanese). 金寳山瑞龍寺. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
  4. ^ 総合仏教大辞典編集委員会（編） (January 1988). 総合仏教大辞典 (in Japanese). 法蔵館. p. 98.
  5. ^ Katsuki Sekida, "Two Zen Classics: Mumonkan, Hekiganroku." Weatherhill, 1977. ISBN 0-8348-0130-2.
  6. ^ Thomas Cleary and J.C. Cleary, "Blue Cliff Record". Shambala, Boston/London, 2005. ISBN 0-87773-622-7. Originally published in 1977.
  7. ^ Urs App, "Master Yunmen". Kodansha, 1994. ISBN 1-56836-004-5
  8. ^ 総合仏教大辞典編集委員会（編） (January 1988). 総合仏教大辞典 (in Japanese). 法蔵館. p. 98.
  9. ^ 中村元ほか（編） (October 2002). 岩波仏教辞典 (in Japanese) (第二版 ed.). 岩波書店. p. 789.
  10. ^ Kōjien 6th Edition
  11. ^ "Nichi nichi kore ko jitsu – every day is a good day". September 28, 2007.
  12. ^ "Everyday is a good day (nichinichi kore koujitsu)". Takase Studios.
  13. ^ "Chagake With Zen Idiom "Nichi-Nichi Kore Kojitsu" - Japanese Tea Mart Rikyu". www.rikyucha.com.


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