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{{Italic title|reason=[[:Category:Japanese words and phrases]]}}
{{Zen Buddhism}}
'''''Unsui''''' ({{langx|ja|雲水}}), or '''''kōun ryūsui''''' ({{lang|ja|行雲流水}}) in full, is a term specific to [[Zen Buddhism]] which denotes a [[postulant]] awaiting acceptance into a [[monastery]] or a [[novice]] monk who has undertaken Zen training. Sometimes they will travel from monastery to monastery ([[angya]]) on a [[pilgrimage]] to find the appropriate [[Zen master]] with which to study.<ref name="baroni">Baroni, 365</ref>

==Etymology==
The term ''unsui'', which literally translates as "cloud, water" comes from a [[Chinese language|Chinese]] [[poem]] which reads, "To drift like clouds and flow like water."<ref name="snyder">Snyder, 44-45</ref> [[Helen J. Baroni]] writes, "The term can be applied more broadly for any practitioner of Zen, since followers of Zen attempt to move freely through life, without the constraints and limitations of '''attachment''', like free-floating clouds or flowing water."<ref name="baroni"/> According to author [[James Ishmael Ford]], "In Japan, one receives unsui ordination at the beginning of formal ordained
practice, and this is often perceived as 'novice ordination.'"<ref name="ford">Ford, 55</ref>

According to the Oxford Dictionary of Buddhism,<ref name="Dict-Budd">Dictionary of Buddhism, 316</ref> the term ''unsui'' is also used for 
{{quote|Ch'an or zen monks who, having achieved enlightenment (''satori'') after an initial period of training under their first master, take to the road in search of other masters. This is done in order to either test their awakening against them or deepen it with them. The term refers to their [[no fixed abode|lack of a fixed abode]] during this period."<ref name="Dict-Budd"/>}}

Therefore, the translation of '''itinerant monk''' found on several Japanese-English online dictionaries.<ref name="wwwjdic">[[Jim Breen]]'s [[WWWJDIC]]</ref><ref name="Jef-dic">[[Jeffrey Friedl]]'s [http://linear.mv.com/cgi-bin/j-e/dict Jeffrey's Japanese<->English dictionary server]</ref>

==See also==
*[[Bhikkhu]]
*[[Bhikkhuni]]
*[[Buddhism in Japan]]
*[[Samanera]]

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
*{{cite book| last =Baroni| first =Helen J.| author-link =Helen J. Baroni| title =The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Zen Buddhism| publisher =The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc.| year =2002| isbn = 0-8239-2240-5| oclc =42680558}}
*{{cite book| last =Ford| first =James Ishmael| author-link =James Ishmael Ford| title =Zen Master Who?: A Guide to the People and Stories of Zen| publisher =Wisdom Publications| year =2006| url =https://archive.org/details/zenmasterwhoguid00jame| isbn =0-86171-509-8| url-access =registration}}
*{{cite book| last =Snyder| first =Gary| author-link =Gary Snyder| title =Earth House Hold: Technical Notes & Queries to Fellow Dharma Revolutionaries| publisher =New Directions Publishing| year =1969| url =http://www.worldcat.org/search?qt=worldcat_org_all&q=0811201953| isbn = 0-8112-0195-3}}
*{{cite book |last=Keown |first=Damien |author-link= Damien Keown|author2=Stephen Hodge |author3=Paola Tinti |title= A Dictionary of Buddhism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KE56vyhOHGsC|year= 2003|publisher= Oxford University Press US|isbn= 9780198605607|page= 316}}

{{Buddhism topics}}

[[Category:Zen]]
[[Category:Japanese Buddhist titles]]
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