296Japanese quotation 名言
家は漏らぬほど、食事は飢えぬほどにて足る事なり
いえはもらぬほど、しょくじはうえぬほどにてたることなりIe wa moranu hodo, shokuji wa uenu hodo nite taru koto nari
“A house that does not leak, meals that end hunger: that is enough.”
The meaning
The tea master brings the necessary down to almost nothing — and thereby opens an immense space: everything beyond that threshold is freedom, not need.
At the origin
A teaching attributed to Sen no Rikyū, master of the tea ceremony, reported by the Nanpōroku tradition.
The characters
In practice
List what truly suffices for you — and look at all the rest differently.
Editorial note
Reported tradition (Nanpōroku); attribution not certain.