Un-Sui means Clouds-Water

A monks training must be very steady, disciplined, and stable.

We must be upright, but not rigid like a corpse; we need to be alive.

A monk in training we call 'Unsui'. Un means clouds, and sui means water. This name comes from a longer phrase Ko-un Ryu-sui which means, Drifting-Clouds Flowing-Water.

Mosshoseki is a phrase that means to leave no trace. Unsui are like this... Koun mosshoseki... 'A cloud drifts by, it leaves without a trace' comes from an old monk's poem just before he died, as was the custom of the time.

When sailing, I've heard they say, "Steady as she goes". I think monks should be 'steady as we go', too. Drifting like clouds, and flowing like water.

But leaving no trace in our wake...