--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is no hierarchy in Japanese…" description: "\"There is no hierarchy in Japanese Buddhist poetry.\" — Robert Bly" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c29/robert-bly-3269_buddhist_there-is-no-hierarchy-in-japanese-buddhi_3128387.png" --- # There is no hierarchy in Japanese Buddhist poetry. ![“There is no hierarchy in Japanese Buddhist poetry.” quote by Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c29/robert-bly-3269_buddhist_there-is-no-hierarchy-in-japanese-buddhi_3128387.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c29/robert-bly-3269_buddhist_there-is-no-hierarchy-in-japanese-buddhi_3128387.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c29/robert-bly-3269_buddhist_there-is-no-hierarchy-in-japanese-buddhi_3128387.png) > “There is no hierarchy in Japanese Buddhist poetry.” [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Japanese Buddhist poetry lacks a ranking system; all verses hold equal value. **In simple terms:** All Japanese Buddhist poems are equally valued. Key Takeaway Recognize equality in artistic expression. Themes art equality culture Mood contemplative respectful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - creative writing - education - cross‑cultural study Key Concepts poetry Buddhism hierarchy literary criticism Questions to Reflect On - Do you notice subtle rankings in other art forms? - How does equality influence interpretation? A Different Perspective Some traditions may have implicit hierarchies despite claims. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Buddhist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buddhist/) [Buddhist Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buddhist-poetry-5522078/) [Hierarchy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hierarchy/) [Hierarchy Japanese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hierarchy-japanese-5522079/) [Japanese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/japanese/) [Japanese Buddhist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/japanese-buddhist-5426438/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) ## Related quotes > [Writing generally, it may be said that in design, roof, and general aspect, Japanese Buddhist temples are all alike. The sacred architectural idea expresses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabella-bird/writing-generally-it-may-be-said-that-in-design-roof-and-general/) [Isabella Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabella-bird/) > [Japanese people accept that art and commerce will be blended; and, in fact, they are surprised by the rigid and pretentious Western hierarchy of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/takashi-murakami/japanese-people-accept-that-art-and-commerce-will-be-blended-and-in/) [Takashi Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/takashi-murakami/) > [Vertical attention is not the same as, and doesn't evolve from nor imply, hierarchy. We could say that hierarchy is associated with power, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/vertical-attention-is-not-the-same-as-and-doesn-t-evolve-from-nor/) [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) > [The Roman Catholic Church early on simply adapted the hierarchical structure of the Roman Empire and confused the whole thing. Vertical attention and hierarchy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/the-roman-catholic-church-early-on-simply-adapted-the-hierarchical/) [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) > [“Too lazy to be ambitious, I let the world take care of itself. Ten days' worth of rice in my bag; a bundle of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryokan/too-lazy-to-be-ambitious-i-let-the-world-take-care-of-itself-ten-days/) [Ryokan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryokan/) > [I see anarchism as the theoretical ideal to which we are all gradually evolving to a point where everybody can tell the truth to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/i-see-anarchism-as-the-theoretical-ideal-to-which-we-are-all/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [“Hierarchy was like breathing: the only time you thought about it was when something went wrong.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-lynn-barnes/hierarchy-was-like-breathing-the-only-time-you-thought-about-it-was/) [Jennifer Lynn Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-lynn-barnes/) > [“One way or another, we spend our whole lives being conditioned into accepting some line or order, some position of domination or subjection. It’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cliff-james/one-way-or-another-we-spend-our-whole-lives-being-conditioned-into/) [Cliff James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cliff-james/) > [“The lowly have small ambitions, and are satisfied with small indulgences. They need not get fair treatment. They need only think that they do... ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-abercrombie/the-lowly-have-small-ambitions-and-are-satisfied-with-small/) [Joe Abercrombie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-abercrombie/) > [Once you have hierarchy you need rules to protect and administer it, and then you need law and the enforcement of the rules, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-p-young/once-you-have-hierarchy-you-need-rules-to-protect-and-administer-it/) [William P. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-p-young/) > [If you want to hire great people and have them stay, you have to be run by ideas, not hierarchy. The best ideas have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/if-you-want-to-hire-great-people-and-have-them-stay-you-have-to-be/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [The entire hierarchy of angels can best be described as an endlessly vast sphere of beings, who surround an unknowable centre-point, which is called…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-godwin/the-entire-hierarchy-of-angels-can-best-be-described-as-an-endlessly/) [Malcolm Godwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-godwin/) > [In the hierarchy of the family, I'm just above the dog. But I like it that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jens-voigt/in-the-hierarchy-of-the-family-i-m-just-above-the-dog-but-i-like-it/) [Jens Voigt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jens-voigt/) > [Love is the supreme form of communication. In the hierarchy of needs, love stands as the supreme developing agent of the humanity of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-montagu/love-is-the-supreme-form-of-communication-in-the-hierarchy-of-needs/) [Ashley Montagu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-montagu/) > [We became Homo sapiens not that long ago, from the scientific perspective, and we've retained a lot of our beast nature. We've done all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wangechi-mutu/we-became-homo-sapiens-not-that-long-ago-from-the-scientific/) [Wangechi Mutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wangechi-mutu/) ## More by Robert Bly > [I use the phrase 'sibling society' to suggest a culture fundamentally without fathers, mothers, grandfathers, grandmothers, or ancestors. The thinking is horizontal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/i-use-the-phrase-sibling-society-to-suggest-a-culture-fundamentally/) [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) > [All of Japan once a year will get up on their rooftops, because that's the night that the shepherd boy from one side of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/all-of-japan-once-a-year-will-get-up-on-their-rooftops-because-that-s/) [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) > [I got about half the time I wanted to write poetry. I got about half the time I needed to be a father. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/i-got-about-half-the-time-i-wanted-to-write-poetry-i-got-about-half/) [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) > [Every noon as the clock hands arrive at twelve, I want to tie the two arms together, And walk out of the bank carrying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/every-noon-as-the-clock-hands-arrive-at-twelve-i-want-to-tie-the-two/) [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) > [Rumi is astounding, fertile, abundant, almost more an excitable library of poetry than a person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/rumi-is-astounding-fertile-abundant-almost-more-an-excitable-library/) [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) > [One could say the higher the spirit goes, the more deeply the soul sinks down into the waters of melancholy and tragedy. Drowning in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/one-could-say-the-higher-the-spirit-goes-the-more-deeply-the-soul/) [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) > [Don't go outside your house to see flowers. My friend, don't bother with that excursion. Inside your body there are flowers. One flower has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/don-t-go-outside-your-house-to-see-flowers-my-friend-don-t-bother/) [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) > [The models of adulthood are disappearing fast. How can two people have a new marriage if neither of them is an adult?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/the-models-of-adulthood-are-disappearing-fast-how-can-two-people-have/) [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) > [I have spent many years trying to recover a common language, one that can cross the distance between people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/i-have-spent-many-years-trying-to-recover-a-common-language-one-that/) [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) > [One out of three black men are in the criminal justice system in some form. Their despair is beginning to resonate through the entire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/one-out-of-three-black-men-are-in-the-criminal-justice-system-in-some/) [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) > [Sociological prose is generally written without images in an exact form for an academic audience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/sociological-prose-is-generally-written-without-images-in-an-exact/) [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) > [We spend our life until we’re twenty deciding what parts of ourself to put into the bag, and we spend the rest of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/we-spend-our-life-until-we-re-twenty-deciding-what-parts-of-ourself/) [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) > [Every modern male has, lying at the bottom of his psyche, a large, primitive being covered with hair down to his feet. Making contact…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/every-modern-male-has-lying-at-the-bottom-of-his-psyche-a-large/) [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) > [My feeling is that poetry is also a healing process, and then when a person tries to write poetry with depth or beauty, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/my-feeling-is-that-poetry-is-also-a-healing-process-and-then-when-a/) [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) > [The ancestors are very much invested in the children, because the children are the ones who are going to continue the world that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/the-ancestors-are-very-much-invested-in-the-children-because-the/) [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) [Explore all 135 Robert Bly quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) ## More Buddhist quotes > [One of the things I regret about not putting in that book or I think it's there but I didn't really elaborate on it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-warner/one-of-the-things-i-regret-about-not-putting-in-that-book-or-i-think/) [Brad Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-warner/) > [One of his students asked Buddha, "Are you the Messiah?" "No," answered Buddha. "Then are you a healer?" "No," Buddha replied. "Then are you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/one-of-his-students-asked-buddha-are-you-the-messiah-no-answered/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [For fear of causing terror to living beings, Mahamati, let the Bodhisattva who is disciplining himself to attain compassion, refrain from eating flesh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/for-fear-of-causing-terror-to-living-beings-mahamati-let-the/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [Be lamps unto yourselves. Be refuges unto yourselves. Take yourself no external refuge. Hold fast to the truth as a lamp. Hold fast to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/be-lamps-unto-yourselves-be-refuges-unto-yourselves-take-yourself-no/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [Humility simply means that you do a great job at everything and it isn't really a big deal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/humility-simply-means-that-you-do-a-great-job-at-everything-and-it/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Speak only the speech that neither torments self nor does harm to others. That speech is truly well spoken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/speak-only-the-speech-that-neither-torments-self-nor-does-harm-to/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [I don't look at anything. Every person whether he is Hindu, Muslim or Buddhist, he is my brother, my sister. I think we all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/i-don-t-look-at-anything-every-person-whether-he-is-hindu-muslim-or/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [My family is Jewish, Buddhist, Baptist and Catholic. I don't believe in man-made religions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whoopi-goldberg/my-family-is-jewish-buddhist-baptist-and-catholic-i-don-t-believe-in/) [Whoopi Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whoopi-goldberg/) > [I'm working at trying to be a Christian, and that's serious business. It's like trying to be a good Jew, a good Muslim, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/i-m-working-at-trying-to-be-a-christian-and-that-s-serious-business/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Buddhist words such as compassion and emptiness don't mean much until we start cultivating our innate ability simply to be there with pain with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/buddhist-words-such-as-compassion-and-emptiness-don-t-mean-much-until/) [Pema Chodron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) > [“Even my Buddhist friends have been feeling despair and when they go bad, you know the end is nigh.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/even-my-buddhist-friends-have-been-feeling-despair-and-when-they-go/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [He who causes suffering shall suffer. There is no escape.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/he-who-causes-suffering-shall-suffer-there-is-no-escape/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [“When I think about what it would take to achieve freedom from all psychological stuff, the response that comes is this: life is about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-m-ingram/when-i-think-about-what-it-would-take-to-achieve-freedom-from-all/) [Daniel M. Ingram](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-m-ingram/) > [If my happiness at this moment consists largely in reviewing happy memories and expectations, I am but dimly aware of this present. I shall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/if-my-happiness-at-this-moment-consists-largely-in-reviewing-happy/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [The Buddha gave his first talks, and three or four ascetics became his first disciples. They recognized his enlightenment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/the-buddha-gave-his-first-talks-and-three-or-four-ascetics-became-his/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) [Browse all 1,479 Buddhist quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buddhist/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There is no hierarchy in Japanese Buddhist poetry.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert Bly" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/there-is-no-hierarchy-in-japanese-buddhist-poetry/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Buddhist" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/there-is-no-hierarchy-in-japanese-buddhist-poetry/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c29/robert-bly-3269_buddhist_there-is-no-hierarchy-in-japanese-buddhi_3128387.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c29/robert-bly-3269_buddhist_there-is-no-hierarchy-in-japanese-buddhi_3128387.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c29/robert-bly-3269_buddhist_there-is-no-hierarchy-in-japanese-buddhi_3128387.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There is no hierarchy in Japanese Buddhist poetry.” — Robert Bly", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Robert Bly", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There is no hierarchy in Japanese...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/there-is-no-hierarchy-in-japanese-buddhist-poetry/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/there-is-no-hierarchy-in-japanese-buddhist-poetry/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```