"Just as Bodhidharma is unique so is Basho. His statements have to be listened to very carefully. He speaks as Basho should speak – he is the very essence of Zen.

"If Bodhidharma is the founder then Basho is the flower. He has the fragrance which only a flower can have. That fragrance is manifested in his poetry, in his small statements, in his every gesture. Even in his ordinary talks with people he cannot be other than Basho.

"This small anecdote would have been forgotten if Basho were not there. There is nothing new in it but Basho gives it new meaning. There is nothing philosophical or mystical in it, but Basho makes it a mystery. You will have to be very silently aware to see what a great master is….

"Bodhidharma is very raw. He smells of the earth when the first rain clouds come – and a beautiful smell out of the earth. Basho is far more refined, perhaps the most refined Zen master up to now. His refinement is in his cultured, meditative spaciousness. Out of that spaciousness many flowers have showered on the world. It does not matter wherever he is and whatever is going on, Basho is going to make it a Zen state of affairs. That uniqueness will not be found again.

"Just think of this Hyakujo and a wild duck….

When Basho was out walking with Hyakujo he saw a wild duck flying past.
Basho said, 'What is it?'

"Certainly the question is not about the wild duck, because Basho is not blind. Hyakujo is far behind in spiritual growth; he is not yet a master. Not even a perfect disciple. He has some intellectual sophistication, but even he missed it. He missed it because he must have thought that Basho had not seen that it is a wild duck.

"Basho is not asking about the wild duck at all. He is not asking about the form but the essence.

"'What is it?' He is not asking about the past or the present but that which transcends time.

Hyakujo said, 'It is a wild duck.'

"Perfectly factual, perfectly right – but not in the eyes of a man like Basho."