Ikkyu was a 15th century Japanese Zen master of the usual "crazy wisdom" kind. He slept with prostitutes, drank rice wine, dressed like a beggar, and wrote a collection of bizarre poetry titled "The Crazy Cloud". Ikkyu´s last poem said that he had grown so old and tired, that he just shat and offered the feces to the Buddha!
I kind of wonder about the social role played by "crazy wisdom" teachers. Is it a extreme counter-reaction to a society so hierarchic that it can´t be meaningfully reformed or revolutionized, making "crazy wisdom" the only possible form of social protest? Or is it rather a way for said society to get rid of (while de facto also managing) its kooks and undesirables? The protest against the Spectacle is part of the Spectacle itself.
Maybe that´s the fate of all "radical" counter-cultures. Meanwhile, also in 15th century Japan, there were peasant rebels trained by dissatisfied samuari. They too claimed to be Buddhists...
Draw your own conclusions.
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