Flowing With Water Comments

'' mizu oto to issho ni sato e orite kita '' '' flowing with the water / I walked down to the village ''

Like Bashō, Santōka noted that ''when you travel you truly come to understand human beings, poetry, and nature. '' Santōka was more extreme than Bashō, completely giving himself to mujō (impermanence) and sabi (solitude) . Santōka was a beggar-monk who always traveled alone, flowing with the clouds and water.

'' soritate no atama ni zombun hi no hikari '' '' the sunlight freely reflects off / my freshly shaven head ''

'' shōji no naka no yuki furishikiru '' '' within life and death / snow falls ceaselessly ''

In his travels Santōka attempted to accept everything that came his way without clinging to ideas of self and others, true or false, good or bad, life or death.

'' kaze no meian o tadoru '' '' I walk in the wind's / brightness and darkness ''