‘A Cup of Sake Beneath the Cherry Trees’ is the musings of a 13th Century Japanese monk as he writes his ideas on living a fulfilled life in the short time one has on earth. Kenkō’s buddhist teachings are evident in the collections of his thoughts, a heavy condemnation of alcohol, love and marriage throughout but also exceptions raised for the joy of a cup of sake among friends. It focuses on the value of intellectual discussion but also time to oneself used in your own musings, a personal favourite snippet of mine being: 

“It is a most wonderful comfort to sit alone beneath a lamp, book spread before you, and commune with someone from the past whom you have never met” 

 

I found myself drawing many similarities between Kenkō and Gibran’s ‘The Prophet’ in the texts structures, freehand discussion of many themes and teachings, though I found Kenkō to bring a lot more peace and seem more self-confident in his musings. His ideas just felt much more applicable and calming. Whilst I will not be pursuing buddhist spiritualism, (there are elements I am in disagreement with) it is an idealistic way of life we can take a lot from.