Bamboo and Plum Blossom

Bamboo and Plum Blossom

Bamboo and Plum Blossom

Bamboo and Plum Blossom
Bamboo and Plum Blossom

Monday, May 31, 2010

Chi K'Ang



Taoist Song
.
I will cast out Wisdom and reject Learning.
My thoughts shall wander in the Great Void
Always repenting of wrongs done
Will never bring my heart to rest.
I cast my hook in a single stream;
But my joy is as though I possessed a Kingdom.
I loose my hair and go singing;
To the four frontiers men join in my refrain.
This is the purport of my song:
"My thoughts shall wander in the Great Void."

Sunday, May 30, 2010

Fu Hsuan



A Gentle Wind
.
A gentle wind fans the calm night;
A bright moon shines on the high tower.
A voice whispers, but no one answers when I call:
A shadow stirs, but no one comes when I beckon.
The kitchen man brings in a dish of lentils:
Wine is there, but I do not fill my cup.
Contentment with poverty is fortune's best gift:
Riches and Honour are the handmaids of Disaster.
Though gold and gems by the world are sought and prized,
To me they seem no more than weeds or chaff.

Saturday, May 29, 2010

Lao Tzu



"When you are content to be simply yourself and don't
compare or compete, everybody will respect you."

Friday, May 28, 2010

Chiao Jan




Inscribed on the Wall of the Hut by the Lake

If you want to be a mountain dweller...
no need to trek to India to find a mountain...
I've got a thousand peaks
to pick from, right here in this lake.
Fragrant grasses, white clouds,
to hold me here.
What holds you there,
world-dweller?

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Dogen Zenji



All that's visible springs from causes intimate to you.
While walking, sitting, lying down, the body itself is complete truth.
If someone asks the inner meaning of this:
"Inside the treasury of the dharma eye a single grain of dust."

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Keijo Shurin



The road enters green mountains near evening's dark;
Beneath the white cherry trees, a Buddhist temple
Whose priest doesn't know what regret for spring's passing means-
Each stroke of his bell startles more blossoms into fallin

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Yamei



at the end of the smoke
from the smudge,
humming mosquitoes

Monday, May 24, 2010

Ajahn Chah



Do not try...
Do not try to become anything.
Do not make yourself into anything.
Do not be a meditator.
Do not become enlightened.
When you sit, let it be.
What you walk, let it be.
Grasp at nothing.
Resist nothing.

If you haven't wept deeply, you haven't begun to meditate

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Shunyru Suzuki



When you understand one thing through
and through, you understand everything.

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Meng Hao-jan



A Night On The River
.
Moored in island mist,
as the sun sets, a traveler's grief arises.

Beyond the great plain, the sky closes on trees.
On this gentle river, the moon arrives

Friday, May 21, 2010

Chi K'Ang



I will cast out Wisdom and reject Learning.
My thoughts shall wander in the Great Void
Always repenting of wrongs done
Will never bring my heart to rest.
I cast my hook in a single stream;
But my joy is as though I possessed a Kingdom.
I loose my hair and go singing;
To the four frontiers men join in my refrain.
This is the purport of my song:
"My thoughts shall wander in the Great Void."

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Tran Nhan Tong



Bed Full Of Books
Tran Nhan Tong 1258-1308

On a bed full of books
I sit under a lamp by the window,
Knowing not
where the sound of washing clothes comes.
In the yard the transparant air
permeated by the mist of autumn,
On the cassia-flowers
first moonlight appears.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Joho



Fathomed at last!
Ocean's dried. Void burst.
Without an obstacle in sight,
It's everywhere!

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Shih-shu



As flowing waters disappear into the mist
We lose all track of their passage.
Every heart is its own Buddha.
Ease off ... become immortal.

Wake up! The world's a mote of dust.
Behold heaven's round mirror.
Turn loose! Slip past shape and shadow,
Sit side by side with nothing, save Tao.

Monday, May 17, 2010

Matsuo Basho



"Spring rain
leaking through the roof
dripping from the wasps' nest."

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Heart Sutra



Shariputra,
Form does not differ from emptiness;
Emptiness does not differ from form.
Form itself is emptiness;
Emptiness itself is form.
So too are feeling, cognition, formation,
and consciousness.

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Yoshiwara Saigyo



Not stopping to mark the trail,
let me push even deeper
into the mountain!
Perhaps there's a place
where bad news can never reach me!

Friday, May 14, 2010

Buddha's Words On Kindness



This is what should be done
By one who is skilled in goodness,
And who knows the path of peace:
Let them be able and upright,
Straightforward and gentle in speech.
Humble and not conceited,
Contented and easily satisfied.
Unburdened with duties and frugal in their ways.
Peaceful and calm, and wise and skillful,
Not proud and demanding in nature.
Let them not do the slightest thing
That the wise would later reprove.

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Chiyono



In this way and that I have tried to save
the old pail
Since the bamboo strip was weakening and
about to break
Until at last the bottom fell out.
No more water in the pail!
No more moon in the water!

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Dammapada



Reciting a small portion of the scriptures,
But putting it diligently into practice;
Letting go of passion, aggression, and confusion:
Revering the truth with a clear mind;
And not clinging to anything, here or hereafter;
Brings the harvest of the holy life.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Lu Yun


THE VALLEY WIND
.
Living in retirement beyond the World,
Silently enjoying isolation,
I pull the rope of my door tighter
And stuff my window with roots and ferns.
My spirit is tuned to the Spring-season:
At the fall of the year
There is autumn in my heart.
Thus imitating cosmic changes,
My cottage becomes a Universe.

Monday, May 10, 2010

Yuan Mei



I burned incense, swept the earth, and waited
for a poem to come...

Then I laughed, and climbed the mountain,
leaning on my staff.

How I'd love to be a master
of the blue sky's art:

see how many sprigs of snow-white cloud
he's brushed in so far today.

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Ikkyu



A Fisherman

Studying texts and stiff meditation can make you lose
your Original Mind. A solitary tune by a fisherman,
though, can be an invaluable treasure. Dusk rain on
the river, the moon peeking in and out of the clouds;
Elegant beyond words, he chants his songs night
after night.

Saturday, May 8, 2010

Fen-Yang



When you are deluded and full of doubt, even a thousand books of scripture are not enough. When you have realized understanding, even one word is too much.

Friday, May 7, 2010

Layman Makusho



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

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Santoka Taneda



Nothing remains
Of the house that I was born in--
Fireflies.

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Dogen Zenji



All that's visible springs from causes intimate to you.
While walking, sitting, lying down, the body itself is complete truth.
If someone asks the inner meaning of this:
"Inside the treasury of the dharma eye a single grain of dust."

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Confucius



The Master said,
"It is by the Odes that the mind is aroused."
It is by the Rules of Propriety that the character is established.
"It is from Music that the finish is received."
The Master said,
"The people may be made to follow a path of action,
but they may not be made to understand it

Monday, May 3, 2010

Thich Nhat Hanh



If you are a poet, you will see clearly that there is a cloud floating in this
sheet of paper. Without a cloud there will be no water; without water,
the trees cannot grow; and without trees, you cannot make paper. So
the cloud is in here. The existence of this page is dependent upon the
existence of a cloud. Paper and cloud are so close.

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Yun-men Wen-yen



But I say unto you,
Take this staff just as a staff;
Movement is movement;
Sitting is sitting,
but don't wobble
under any circumstances!
My staff has turned into a dragon
and swallowed up the whole world.
Where are the poor mountains and rivers and great earth now?

Vasubandhu happened to transform himself
Into a staff of chestnut wood, and,
Striking the earth once,
All the innumerable Buddhas were released
from their entangling words.

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Dogen Zenji



To study the buddha way is to study the self.
To study the self is to forget the self.
To forget the self is to be enlightened by the ten thousand dharmas.
To be enlightened by the ten thousand dharmas is to free
one's body and mind and those of others.
No trace of enlightenment remains, and this traceless
enlightenment is continued forever.