One day a man approached Ikkyu and asked: “Master, will 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.” The 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.”
