Ikkarim
(basic principles of Jewish belief)
:
Ikkyu S
jun
(1394–1481).
Zen master of the
Rinzai
school in Japan. He experienced sudden enlightenment in 1418. He called himself ‘the son of the wandering cloud’, and although in later life he was appointed by the emperor abbot of
Daitoku-ji
, he constantly and strongly rejected the decadent forms of Zen which he found around him. He expressed this critique in a highly unconventional lifestyle, and in his
‘Mad Cloud’
poetry, collected in
Ky
un-shu
(Germ. tr., Suichi and Thom, 1979). The many tales of his mocking style have made him one of the most popular figures in Japan—the holy madman, who frequented inns and brothels, and who danced down the street waving a skull. He was also noted for his dramatic
calligraphy
.
Ikon
(painted representation)
:
Ik Onkar
or Ik Oa
k
r
(Pañj
bi, ‘one’; Skt., ‘sacred syllable
o
’
). Gur
N
nak's
statement that God is One. Ik Onk
r is the Sikhs' most frequent statement about God, emphasizing the unity of the Primal Being. In its customary symbolic form the numeral stresses the divine singularity.