Bamboo and Plum Blossom

Bamboo and Plum Blossom

Bamboo and Plum Blossom

Bamboo and Plum Blossom
Bamboo and Plum Blossom

Friday, December 31, 2010

Lu Tung Pin




.
My heart is the clear water in the stony pond.
Right now it is invaded by the peach-blossom shadows.
As soon as I arrive at heaven's palaces
I shall settle down with my seven-stringed lute.

Thursday, December 30, 2010

Mei Yaochen



A Rural Home
.
The cock crows three times; the sky is almost light.
Someone's lined up bowls of rice, along with flasks of tea.
Anxiously, the peasants rush to start the ploughing early,
I pull aside the willow shutter and gaze at the morning stars.

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Sho Ka



Black! crow standing
in his eye all eternity
Long shadows draw

Wild winds abate
In morning's first light
A broken teahouse

Bursting open
The rose dawn fills
My empty universe

No barrier now
Lofty mountain to one
Riding the wind.

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Li Bai



Lily Magnolia
.
There is an end to the remotest
corner of the earth, while
There is an endlessness to the
yearning between lovers

Monday, December 27, 2010

Du Fu (712-770)



Winter Solstice
Dù Fǔ 712-770

Year after year on solstice day,
ever the wanderer;
Swift and sudden,
dead-end sorrows bogging me to death.
My features upon the Jiang--
I grow old by myself;
Locals' customs at world's end--
they're dear to each other.
Goosefoot staff: after snowfall,
I overlook Cinnabar Strath;
Sounding jade come since levee,
released from Purple Palace.
My heart is torn in this hour,
without one inch intact:
As my road errs,
in what place stay the 3 Realms of Qin?

Sunday, December 26, 2010

Hsu Yun



CLOUDS AND MIST (A RARE SIGHT) ON THE GANSU ROAD

Cold smoke lingers like fog around a single lit house.
Like a lonely star the house rises up out of the cloud.

The ground is red like the inside of a fish's cheeks.
The mountains dark blue like a spiral conch's flared headdress.

Around half the pond grow poet Tao Qian's willows
And every ten miles stands one of Lord Xie Lingyun's pavilions.

To say Hello and Goodbye to such congenial and famous guests
Takes my breath away! Gives me a heady feeling
That's pretty hard to match.

Saturday, December 25, 2010

Lao Tzu



. Each day I enjoy tea. I talk of it often. I have a wooden container I use each morning to draw water from the well. I bring the water into my home and heat it over a fire. I choose a tea to steep and then enjoy it while watching the sunrise. Each morning I take what I need from the well. Each morning it provides. It has always been there. Perhaps it always will.

Friday, December 24, 2010

Meng Haoran



Parting From Wang Wei
.
Quietly, I've waited here so long,
Day after day; but now I must return.
Now I go to seek the fragrant grass,
But I grieve to part from my old friend.
Who is there who would help me on the road?
Understanding friends are few in life.
I should just observe my solitude,
And close again the gate of my old home.

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Mei Yaochen



Mourning Loss
.
When we two first became husband and wife
Was seventeen years ago today.
We couldn't look at each other enough,
What loss could compare to this?
Already, my temples are mostly white,
I'd rather my body had finished its time.
In the end, we'll share a tomb;
Still not dead, I weep and weep.

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Du Fu (712-770)



At Dreadloch Gorge, Meditating On Antiquity
Dù Fǔ

As the southwest's myriad straths outpour,
Even mighty foes--paired cliffs--divide.
The earth from its mountain roots severed;
The Jiang from its Moon Grottoes arrived.
Pared to a fit, facing White Lord;
Curved in a void, hiding Sun Terrace.
Tho' His Deed of dredging & boring was fair,
The power of the Potter's Wheel is immense!

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Su Shi (1036-1101)



Awaking on a Boat at Night
.
Su Shi
.
A light breeze soughs quietly,
blowing river grasses.
I open the hatch expecting rain;
moonlight fills the lake.
Boatman and river birds
share the same dream;
A large fish suddenly jumps
and dives like a darting fox.
Late at night people and creatures
are oblivious of each other,
While in my case alone, form and shadow
delight each other.
The dark tide appears at the bank,
pity the cold crawlers,
The setting moon hangs in the willow,
see the spider suspended.
In this hurried life,
spent amid worries and troubles,
Pure scenes pass before the eyes--
how long can they last?
Cocks crow, bells sound,
flocks of birds take flight.
Drums beat on the bow,
shout answers shout.

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Sima Guang (1019-1086)



Away From Home In Early Spring
Sima Guang 1019-1086

April days fickle
clear.... rain...
then fine again,
Before my door South Mountain juts starkly,
Willow catkins no longer bob in the wind,
And sunflowers need to face the sun.

Friday, December 17, 2010

Mei Yaochen



A Rural Home

The cock crows three times; the sky is almost light.
Someone's lined up bowls of rice, along with flasks of tea.
Anxiously, the peasants rush to start the ploughing early,
I pull aside the willow shutter and gaze at the morning stars.

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Rabgya Basang




"Mother"
.
When I was still a child at the breast,


I never thought of molding clay figures, or playing hide-and-seek,


Nor of the sky and earth,


But I had a vague impression:


“There is nothing in the world


As sweet as my motherland’s embrace.”


From the remote border region,


I crossed the Yangtze and Yellow rivers:


Though I haven’t been to the Changbai Mountains,


I whisper to myself in my heart:


“There is nothing in the world


As sweet as my motherland’s embrace.”

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Li Yu




A Heavenly Woman's Imprisoned in the Palace (Buddhist Dancers)
Li Yu

.
A heavenly woman's imprisoned in the palace at Penglai Hill,
All are silent as she sleeps by day in the painted hall.
Her glossy hair is spread like cloud on the pillow,
Her embroidered clothes bear a wondrous fragrance.
I secretly come and slide the pearl lock back,
She's startled from her dream behind the silver screen.
Her smiling face is overflowing with bliss,
We gaze at each other with unbounded love.

Friday, December 10, 2010

Yang Wanli (1124-1206)



At Jingci Temple Seeing Off Lin Zifang at Dawn
Yang Wanli 1124-1206

Finally West Lake in the month of July
The scene isn't like any other time of year
Sky-high lotus leaves are an endless blue-green
And their sunlit flowers are a different kind of red

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Ryukyuan



Autumn Moon
Clear sky not a cloud in sight,
Bright moon radiates a thousand miles.
Alone in my garden I raise my glass,
Outside
in the trees
an autumn wind rises.

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Naropa (1016-1100)



Advice To Marpa Lotsawa
.
You Marpa, the translator from Tibet!
Do not make the eight worldly dharmas the goal of your life.
Do not create the bias of self and other, grasping and fixation.
Do not slander friends or enemies.
Do not distort the ways of others.
Learning and contemplation are the torch that illumines the darkness.
Do not be ambushed on the supreme path of liberation.
Previously, we have been guru and disciple;
Keep this with you in the future; do not give this up.
This precious jewel of your mind,
Do not throw it in the river like an idiot.
Guard it carefully with undistracted attention,
And you will accomplish all needs, desires, and intentions.

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Li Shangyin



Sent North On A Rainy Night
.
You ask me what time I'll return, but I cannot give a time,
The rain in the hills of Ba at night overflows the autumn pools.
When can we trim the candle together by the western window,
And talk together of the rain in the hills of Ba at night?

Monday, December 6, 2010

T'ao Ch'ien



Idle Living
.
Though life is brief, feeling is everlasting;
That is why man wants to live long.
The sun and moon follow the stars.
The whole world loves this name.
The dew is cold, and the warm wind drops;
The air is penetrating, the day bright.
The departing swallow leaves no shadow;
The returning wild goose brings a lingering cry.
Wine can wash away a hundred woes,
And chrysanthemums set a pattern for old age.
Why should I, a hermit,
Gaze vacantly at the change of seasons?
The ministers are ashamed of their empty grain jars.
The autumn chrysanthemums are alone in their beauty.
I alone sing while fastening my garments.
A feeling of melancholy stirs deep within me.
It is true that there is much amusement in living,
But in idling is there no accomplishment?

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Hui Neng



" Confused by thoughts,
we experience duality in life.
Unencumbered by ideas,
the enlightened see the one Reality."

Saturday, December 4, 2010

Hsu Yun



HEARING THE BELL AT GE JIANG SHAN TEMPLE - BETWEEN THE RIVER AND THE MOUNTAINS

Heaven turns so slowly and gently, it tolerates my age.
Without mercy, days and months advance to cut off my time.

I return to my cave in the mountain, but the trees are all gone.
I look down on the river and all I see are meandering curves.
The sun is captured in a cage of delicate clouds.
I listen to the wind.

Suddenly I hear the Temple Bell!
The sound comes washing over me,
Waking me from the dusty labor of my thoughts.
And distant heaven opens wider and wider to me.

Friday, December 3, 2010

Li Bai



Ancient Air (39)
.
I climb up high and look on the four seas,
Heaven and earth spreading out so far.
Frost blankets all the stuff of autumn,
The wind blows with the great desert's cold.
The eastward-flowing water is immense,
All the ten thousand things billow.
The white sun's passing brightness fades,
Floating clouds seem to have no end.
Swallows and sparrows nest in the wutong tree,
Yuan and luan birds perch among jujube thorns.
Now it's time to head on back again,
I flick my sword and sing Taking the Hard Road.

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Han Yu



Snow in Spring
.
The new year's come, but still the plants don't grow,
First in March I'm startled by grass shoots.
The white snow thinks the colours of spring are late,
So through the pavilion and trees it flies like blossom.

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Du Mu



Drinking Alone
.
Outside the window, wind and snow blow straight,
I clutch the stove and open a flask of wine.
Just like a fishing boat in the rain,
Sail down, asleep on the autumn river.

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Du Fu (754)




Sighs of Autumn Rains
.
In autumn rain, the grasses rot and die,
Below the steps, the jueming's colour is fresh.
Full green leaves cover the stems like feathers,
And countless flowers bloom like golden coins.
The cold wind, moaning, blows against you fiercely,
I fear that soon you'll find it hard to stand.
Upstairs the scholar lets down his white hair,
He faces the wind, breathes the fragrance, and weeps.

Monday, November 29, 2010

Bai Juyi



Feelings on Watching the Moon
.
The times are hard: a year of famine has emptied the fields,
My brothers live abroad- scattered west and east.
Now fields and gardens are scarcely seen after the fighting,
Family members wander, scattered on the road.
Attached to shadows, like geese ten thousand li apart,
Or roots uplifted into September's autumn air.
We look together at the bright moon, and then the tears should fall,
This night, our wish for home can make five places one.

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Kuan Han-Ch'ing



Idle Wandering
by Kuan Han-Ch'ing
(1240 - 1320) Timeline

English version by
Jerome P. Seaton

Original Language
Chinese
Taoist
Buddhist
13th Century



go where my mind will
sit when my heart's still
drink when I'm thirsty
and sing when I'm drunk
when hard times come
I find a pile of grass and sleep
the days and months are long
the world is vast
and idleness is happiness

toss off the vintage wine
use up the raw
laugh beside the earthen pot
ha, ha, ha,
hum harmonies together with this rude old mountain bonz
he has a pair of chickens
I've brought along a duck
and idleness is happiness

I've reined mind's horses
locked up my monkey heart
leapt up from red dust and evil-mannered wind
who woke me from my shady dreams of Empire?
I've left the field of honor
and wormed into a nest of joys
where idleness is happiness

he's ploughed the southern field
and slept among the eastern hills
I've been the way the world goes, often
vainly measured bygones in my mind
he's the saint
and I'm the fool
who'd argue that?

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Milarepa



The Profound Definitive Meaning
.
For the mind that masters view the emptiness dawns
In the content seen not even an atom exists
A seer and seen refined until they're gone
This way of realizing view, it works quite well

When meditation is clear light river flow
There is no need to confine it to sessions and breaks
Meditator and object refined until they're gone
This heart bone of meditation, it beats quite well

When you're sure that conducts work is luminous light
And you're sure that interdependence is emptiness
A doer and deed refined until they're gone
This way of working with conduct, it works quite well

When biased thinking has vanished into space
No phony facades, eight dharmas, nor hopes and fears,
A keeper and kept refined until they're gone
This way of keeping samaya, it works quite well

When you've finally discovered your mind is dharmakaya
And you're really doing yourself and others good
A winner and won refined until they're gone
This way of winning results, it works quite well.

Friday, November 26, 2010

Du Fu (754)



In autumn rain, the grasses rot and die,
Below the steps, the jueming's colour is fresh.
Full green leaves cover the stems like feathers,
And countless flowers bloom like golden coins.
The cold wind, moaning, blows against you fiercely,
I fear that soon you'll find it hard to stand.
Upstairs the scholar lets down his white hair,
He faces the wind, breathes the fragrance, and weeps.

Thursday, November 25, 2010

A Visit to Qiantang Lake in the Spring



Gushan Temple is to the north, Jiating pavilion west,
The water's surface now is calm, the bottom of the clouds low.
In several places, the first orioles are fighting in warm trees,
By every house new swallows peck at spring mud.
Disordered flowers have grown almost enough to confuse the eye,
Bright grass is able now to hide the hooves of horses.
I most love the east of the lake, I cannot come often enough
Within the shade of green poplars on White Sand Embankment.

Bai Juyi

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Li Po



Li Po 701 -762

"You ask me why I dwell in the green mountain;
I smile and make no reply for my heart is free of care.
As the peach-blossom flows down stream
and is gone into the unknown,
I have a world apart that is not among men."

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Bai Juyi



The times are hard: a year of famine has emptied the fields,
My brothers live abroad- scattered west and east.
Now fields and gardens are scarcely seen after the fighting,
Family members wander, scattered on the road.
Attached to shadows, like geese ten thousand li apart,
Or roots uplifted into September's autumn air.
We look together at the bright moon, and then the tears should fall,
This night, our wish for home can make five places one

Monday, November 22, 2010

Tran Nhan Tong 1258-1308



Ancient Temple
Tran Nhan Tong 1258-1308

The old temple appears gloomy
in the mist of autumn,
A fishing boat is floating lonely
in the first sounds of the evening bell.
Over the clear water and quiet mountains
white seagulls are flying,
The wind subsides
the clouds move lazily
over a few red-leafed trees.

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Yaichi Aizu



I stand as though
only I am existing
in heaven and earth—
at this solitariness
Kannon, you are smiling. Coming stealthily,
who is it hitting the temple bell?
It is late at night
and t.me tor even the Buddha
to go into dreaming.
In the Lord Buddha's
drowsy eyes
the ancient
country fields of Yamato
Have their hazy existence.

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Thich Nhat Hanh



My head pillowed on waves--
I drift with the flow--
broad river,
deep sky.
They float, they sink,
like bubbles,
like wings.

Friday, November 19, 2010

Wang Chongyang (1113-1170)



Fifteen Articles of Taoist Master Wang Chongwang (1160 CE):

1. Cloistered residence
2. Wandering like clouds
3. Study of texts
4. Preparation of medicines
5. Building a home
6. Companions in the Tao
7. Sitting straight
8. Controlling the mind
9. Refining original inner nature
10. Pairing the Five Energies
11. Merging inner nature and destiny
12. Tao of the Sage
13. Going beyond the Three Worlds
14. Nourishing the Eternal Body
15. Leaving the world

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Chogyam Trungpa



A flower is always happy because it is beautiful.
Bees sing their song of loneliness and weep.
A waterfall is busy hurrying to the ocean.
A poet is blown by the wind.

A friend without inside or outside
And a rock that is not happy or sad
Are watching the winter crescent moon
Suffering from the bitter wind.

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Japanese Proverb



One kind word can warm three winter months.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Kuan Han-Ch'ing



This Autumn Scene's Worth Words Paint
.
this autumn scene's worth words paint
red leaves fill up the mountain stream
the path through the pines is set just so
chrysanthemums glow gold around the easter hedge
I raise this very proper goblet, drain the dregs
the commoner who offers you the cup's
fit for high post, but what's the use
get back
I'll study T'ao Ch'ien, learn to be drunk
as he was.

Monday, November 15, 2010

Liu Wenmin



To be able to be unhurried when hurried;
To be able not to slack off when relaxed;
To be able not to be frightened
And at a loss loss for what to do,
When frightened at at a loss;
This is the learning that returns us
To our natural state and transforms our lives.

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Fenyang



Few people believe their
Inherent mind is Buddha.
Most will not take this seriously,
And therefore are cramped.
They are wrapped up in illusions, cravings,
Resentments, and other afflictions,
All because they love the cave of ignorance.

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Bhaddekaratta Sutra



Do not go after the past,
Nor lose yourself in the future.
For the past no longer exists,
And the future is not yet here.
By looking deeply at things just as they are,
In this moment, here and now,
The seeker lives calmly and freely.
You should be attentive today,
For waiting until tomorrow is too late.
Death can come and take us by surprise--
How can we gainsay it?
The one who knows
How to live attentively
Night and day
Is the one who knows
The best way to be independent.

Friday, November 12, 2010

Lao Tzu



The quieter you become,
the more you are able to hear.


Sitting peacefully doing nothing
Spring comes
and the grass grows all by itself.


We shape clay into a pot, but it is the emptiness inside that holds whatever we want.

Lao Tzu

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Hung-Chih, Book of Serenity



The round pearl has no hollows,
The great raw gem isn't polished.
What is esteemed by people of the Way is having no edges.
Removing the road of agrement, senses and matter are empty.
The free body, resting on nothing, stand out unique and alive.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Juan Chi (210-263 CE)



Long ago there was an immortal man
Who lived on the slope of Shooting Mountain.
Riding clouds and commanding flying dragons,
He did his breathing and supped on precious flowers.
He could be heard, but not seen.
Sighing sorrows and full emotions,
Self-tortured, he had no companion;
Grief and heartbreak piled upon him
"Study the familiar to penetrate the sublime"
But time is short and what's to be done?

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Ryoanji Zen Garden



How long had Ryoanji been there? You must have asked --
but there is no remembrance, just the rocks
and the gravel and the wall
and the very great silence,
the rootedness of deep meditation,
the weight of the rocks and the trees of this earth,
as if their roots grew right down through your heart...

Monday, November 8, 2010

Maxims of Master Han Shan Te'Ch'ing, # 76, 1600



The Buddha Mind contains the universe.
In this universe there is only one pure substance,
One absolute and indivisible Truth.
The notion of duality does not exist.
The small mind contains only illusions of separateness, of division.
It imagines myriad objects and defines truth in terms of relative opposites.
Big is defined by small, good by evil, pure by defiled,
Hidden by revealed, full by empty.
What is opposition?
It is the arena of hostility, of conflict and turmoil.
Where duality is transcended peace reigns.
This is the Dharma’s ultimate truth.

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Ling-Yün and the Peach Blossoms



For thirty years I have been in search of the swordsman;
Many a time have I watched the leaves decay
and the branches shoot!
Ever since I saw for once the peaches in bloom,
Not a shadow of doubt do I cherish.

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Ch'an Master Hsuan Chuen of Yung Chia



Do not stray from "Walking is Ch'an, sitting is Ch'an!"
Essentially at ease whether talking or remaining silent, moving or staying still.
It is serene even when greeted with sharp weapons,
And is not worried about poisons.

It cannot be grasped, nor let go of,
But, if you do neither,
It goes its own way.
If you remain silent, it will speak.
Speak and it is silent.

Friday, November 5, 2010

Daito (1282-1336)



Buddhas and Fathers cut to pieces--
The sword is ever kept sharpened!
Where the wheel turns,
The void gnashes its teeth.