Bamboo and Plum Blossom

Bamboo and Plum Blossom

Bamboo and Plum Blossom

Bamboo and Plum Blossom
Bamboo and Plum Blossom

Friday, April 30, 2010

Ryokan



The thief
Left it behind -
The moon at the window.

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Ryokan



Buddha preached in the twelve divisions,
each division full of purest truth.
East wind -- rain comes in the night,
making all the forest fresh and new.
No sutra that does not save the living,
no branch in the forest not visited by spring.
Learn to understand the meaning in them,
don't try to decide which is "valid," which is not.

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Shunryu Suzuki



My heart burns like fire but my eyes are as cold as dead ashes

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Li Bai



DOWN ZHONGNAN MOUNTAIN
TO THE KIND PILLOW AND BOWL OF HUSI

Down the blue mountain in the evening,
Moonlight was my homeward escort.
Looking back, I saw my path
Lie in levels of deep shadow....
I was passing the farm-house of a friend,
When his children called from a gate of thorn
And led me twining through jade bamboos
Where green vines caught and held my clothes.
And I was glad of a chance to rest
And glad of a chance to drink with my friend....
We sang to the tune of the wind in the pines;
And we finished our songs as the stars went down,
When, I being drunk and my friend more than happy,
Between us we forgot the world.

Monday, April 26, 2010

Zhang Jiuling



A lonely swan from the sea flies,
To alight on puddles it does not deign.
Nesting in the poplar of pearls
It spies and questions green birds twain:
"Don't you fear the threat of slings,
Perched on top of branches so high?
Nice clothes invite pointing fingers,
High climbers god's good will defy.
Bird-hunters will crave me in vain,
For I roam the limitless sky."

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Yasutani Roshi



The quieter you become, the more you can hear.

Saturday, April 24, 2010

Chuang Tzu



If you cannot find the truth right where you are, where else do you expect to find it?

Friday, April 23, 2010

Hakuin Ekaku



A samurai once asked Zen Master Hakuin where he would go after he died.
Hakuin answered 'How am I supposed to know?'
'How do you not know? You're a Zen master!' exclaimed the samurai.
'Yes, but not a dead one,' Hakuin answered

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Layman Makusho



Loving old priceless things,
I've scorned those seeking
Truth outside themselves:
Here, on the tip of the nose.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Hakuin Ekaku



Hakuin Ekaku Zenji
.
How boundless the cleared sky of Samadhi!
How transparent the perfect moonlight of the Fourfold Wisdom!

At this moment what more need we seek?
As the Truth eternally reveals itself,
This very place is the Lotus Land of Purity,
This very body is the Body of the Buddha

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Li Po



A pity it is evening, yet
I do love the water of this spring
seeing how clear it is, how clean;
rays of sunset gleam on it,
lighting up its ripples, making it
one with those who travel
the roads; I turn and face
the moon; sing it a song, then
listen to the sound of the wind
amongst the pines

Monday, April 19, 2010

Tao Chein


.
After Liu Ch'ai-Sang's Poem

I'd long felt these mountains and lakes
beckoning, and wouldn't have thought twice,

but my family and friends couldn't bear
talk of living apart. Then one lucky day

a strange feeling came over me, and I left,
walking-stick in hand, for my western farm.

No one was going back home: on those outland
roads, farm after farm lay in empty ruins,

but our thatch hut's already good as ever,
and you'd think our new fields had been

tended for years. When valley winds turn
cold, spring wine eases hunger and work,

and though it isn't strong, just baby-girl
wine, it's better than nothing for worry.

Distant -- as months and years pass away here,
the bustling world's racket grows distant.

Plowing and weaving provide all we use.
Who needs anything more? Away, ever away

into this hundred-year life and beyond,
my story and I vanish together like this

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Wu Men



(Hui-K'ai)
.
Ten Thousand flowers in spring, the moon in autumn.
a cool breeze in summer, snow in winter.
If your mind isn't clouded by unnecessary things,
this is the best season of your life.

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Shih Shu



Mountain sounds carry a chill wisdom
an upwelling spring whispers subtle tales
pine breezes stir the fire beneath my tea
bamboo shadows soak deep into my robe
.
I grind my ink: clouds scraping across the crags
copy out a verse: birds settling on branches
as the world rolls on by
its every turn tracing out non-action

Friday, April 16, 2010

Li Po



VISITING A TAOIST ON TAITIEN MOUNTAIN
.
Amongst bubbling streams
a dog barks; peach blossom
is heavy with dew; here
and there a deer can
can be seen in forest glades!
No sound of the mid-day
bell enters this fastness
where blue mist rises
from bamboo groves;
down from a high peak
hangs a waterfall;
none knows where he has gone,
so sadly I rest,
with my back leaning
against a pine.

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Lu Tung Pin



Sojourning in Ta-Yu mountains.
Who converses with the white crane that comes flying?
How many times have the mountain people
Seen the winter plume-flowers blossoming?
Spring comes and goes,
Deep in fallen flowers and streams.
People are not aware
Of the many immortals around them.