乞う
5 poems of begging.
こう · in 5 of the 701 poems of Sōmokutō
- the blazing sky borne on my head I go beggingThe Begging Bowl
- no more houses to beg from and clouds on the mountainsThe Begging Bowl
- or else I quit begging and stand watching the mountainsThe Begging Bowl
- willow leaves fall and there I begin my beggingFrom Journey to Journey
- walking and begging the sound of water goes on and onFrom Journey to Journey
Begging rice and coins with a single bowl was Santōka’s livelihood — not a shame but a practice, and a wellspring of poems. “Walking and begging the sound of water goes on and on.”