"Collected Sayings of Natsume Sōseki" Ⅱ

Source: The Complete Works of Sōseki (Iwanami Shoten)　

Translation by ChatGPT

 

From “Botchan”

"Thanks to an inherited streak of recklessness, I’ve been doing little but courting trouble since childhood. Back when I was in primary school, I once leapt from the second floor of the school building and ended up unable to walk for about a week. You may wonder why I did something so foolish. There wasn’t any profound reason. One of my classmates had poked his head out of the newly built second-floor window and, in jest, taunted me, 'No matter how hard you try, you couldn’t possibly jump from here. What a coward you are!' Spurred on by those words, I jumped. When I was carried home on the janitor’s back, my father, with eyes wide in disbelief, said, 'Who in their right mind jumps from the second floor and ends up injuring their back?' To which I replied, 'Next time, I’ll jump without hurting myself.'"

From The Gate (Mon)

"I came seeking to have the gate opened for me. Yet, the gatekeeper remained on the other side of the door and never even showed his face, no matter how much I knocked. All I heard was his voice saying, 'Knocking won't help; open it yourself and come in.' He pondered how he might unlock the bolt of this gate. In his mind, he worked out a clear method and plan. Yet, he had not cultivated the strength to actually put that plan into action and open it."

坐禅会　毎週土曜日午前6：25～8：00　
久留米市宮の陣町大杜1577-1　圓通寺　
初心者歓迎　参加費無料　詳細は電話でお問い合わせください。
℡0942-34-0350
初回参加のみ千円。二回目以降つづけていただければ無料です。
●学校やクラブなど団体研修 坐禅申し込み随時うけたまわります。