三人寄れば文殊の知恵 sannin yoreba monju no chie If three people gather, the wisdom of Monju

Monju is Mañjuśrī, the bodhisattva of wisdom; alone we are ordinary, and three of us taking counsel reach what the monasteries prayed to. The line is in a proverb book of 1656 and was what people always say by 1662; its second half is a Buddhist superlative two centuries older, paired in Noh with the Buddha's dullest disciple.

Two heads are better than one is the smaller English cousin.

The whole line is first written down in the 世話尽, a list of sayings of 1656, built on 文殊の智慧, Monju's wisdom, a set phrase for wisdom already in a Noh play of about 1384; in 1817 喜多村節信 argued that it names Monju only to say wisdom and has no source text, Zen or Confucian.

We want you to be as happy with the meaning as you are with Master Takase's art. To learn more, visit Philology of 三人寄れば文殊の知恵.

Each design is Master Japanese Calligrapher Eri Takase's hand-brushed calligraphy of the word or phrase on this page, delivered as a PDF you can print. Every PDF includes the line art, so a tattoo artist or a craftsperson can work from the outline as well as the brushed image.

Your purchase includes a personal-use license: use the design as a tattoo reference, frame it, engrave it, print it for yourself, or make it into a gift. For more information see Licensing, which also covers commercial-use options that may be purchased separately.

Your PDF is available for download the moment your order completes, and a copy is attached to your emailed receipt.

If you need your design again later, ask us for it and we will send it.