Zen Encounter: Niaoke Daolin and Bai Juyi, second half 18th century, Soga Shōhaku, Japanese, 1730 - 1781, 45 1/2 × 19 3/4 in. ( × cm) (image)83 3/8 × 25 7/8 in. ( × cm) (without roller), Ink on silk, Japan, 18th century, Legend has it that the famous Chinese poet Bai Juyi (772–846) once paid a visit to the Zen master Niaoke Daolin (741–824) and found the elderly monk sitting in a tree by a nest of magpies. The poet asked the monk about the essential meaning of the Dharma, or Buddhist teaching. The monk answered by quoting a scripture

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