One day a man approached Ikkyu and asked: "Master, will you please write for me some maxims of the highest wisdom?" Ikkyu took his brush and wrote: "Attention." "Is that all?" asked the man. Ikkyu then wrote: "Attention. Attention." "Well," said the man, "I really don't see much depth in what you have written." Then Ikkyu wrote the same word three times: "Attention. Attention. Attention." Half angered, the man demanded: "What does that word attention mean, anyway?" Ikkyu gently responded, "Attention means attention. —The Little Zen Companion More about this quote Permalink for this quote facebook twitter tumblr email