Bamboo and Plum Blossom

Bamboo and Plum Blossom

Bamboo and Plum Blossom

Bamboo and Plum Blossom
Bamboo and Plum Blossom

Thursday, June 30, 2011

Milarepa (1052-1135)



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.

Monday, June 27, 2011

Qiu Wei



AFTER MISSING THE RECLUSE
ON THE WESTERN MOUNTAIN

To your hermitage here on the top of the mountain
I have climbed, without stopping, these ten miles.
I have knocked at your door, and no one answered;
I have peeped into your room, at your seat beside the table.
Perhaps you are out riding in your canopied chair,
Or fishing, more likely, in some autumn pool.
Sorry though I am to be missing you,
You have become my meditation --
The beauty of your grasses, fresh with rain,
And close beside your window the music of your pines.
I take into my being all that I see and hear,
Soothing my senses, quieting my heart;
And though there be neither host nor guest,
Have I not reasoned a visit complete?
...After enough, I have gone down the mountain.
Why should I wait for you any longer?

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Lu Tung Pin (755-805)



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.

Saturday, June 25, 2011

Hsu Yun




SIX POEMS ON LIVING IN THE MOUNTAINS

1.
I've got a little picture in my mind of a clean and quiet place.
Everywhere you look it's completely natural.
The house is made of plaited rushes.
There's a good half-acre for growing tubers and flowers.

Beautiful birds perch on cliffs
That encase a few clouds that hang around green peaks.
The world's red dust won't be able to get up here.
Simple elegance is better than saintliness or spirituality.

2.
Can joy be found in the mountains?
Let me tell you. There's more joy in the mountains
Than anywhere else.

Pines and bamboos perform sacred chants.
The songs of Sheng flutes are played by birds.
In the trees, monkeys climb for fruit.
In the ponds, ducks cavort with lotus lilies.

This escape from the ordinary world
Month by month and year by year
Eliminates the hindrances to Enlightenment.

3.
Don't try to stand tall in the courtyards of fame.
In the mountains such dreams fade away.
Your body stands on its own when it's up with the clouds.
Your heart pulls away from worldly attachments.

The moon that I love clears a path through the pines
And guides a stream right to the bamboo gate.
Naturally, this is nothing short of amazing.
How could you disparage it... or ever tire of the sight?

4.
In the mountains there's nothing at all which prohibits
Dreams of cooking millet during afternoon naps.
If you're lazy by nature, you won't brood about problems.
You'll make light of the body and won't fear the cold.

Chrysanthemums grow by the three ancient paths.
A few planted plum trees make the whole yard fragrant.
Engagements are blessedly short.
Leisure is blessedly long.

5.
Just wake up from an afternoon nap in a grass hut.
Drag a walking stick and let it bounce free and easy.
Lean on a rock and watch the clouds rise.
Listen to the pine saplings and hear the sound of waves.

When the forest is dense, no guests pass by.
When the roads are dangerous, they're only used for gathering firewood.
The place is so pristine and cool
How could it fail to quench my mind's furnace of cares?

6.
People complain of a hard life in the mountains.
I don't think it's much different from the hardships of anywhere else.
A clay oven burning birch twigs,
A stone cauldron boiling wild sprouts.

It seems that you've only just picked the chrysanthemums
That grow in the three months of autumn
When it's time to view the flowers of March.

Pity more the moon that night after night
Is forced to entertain society.

Friday, June 24, 2011

Su Shi (1037-1101)



Impromptu Verse
.
A lonely sick old man on eastern slope,
My frosty hair blows loosely in the wind.
My son, mistaken, is pleased by my ruddy face,
I smile: I know it's alcoholic red.

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Wang Zhideng (1535-1612)



Night Mooring On Huangpu
Wang Zhideng

Waves lap the shores of Old Shanghai,
Fog wrapped city, willows obscured in mist.
Old moon not yet set, as fish tickle nets,
Fishermen launch their boats in the flood tide.

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Li Shangyin (815-858)



Her Promises to Come Were Empty Words
.
Her promises to come were empty words, she's gone without a trace,
The moon is slanting on the tower as I hear the fifth watch bell.
In my dream we were far apart, I found it hard to call,
Hurriedly I try to write, but find the ink too thin.
The candle's radiance covers half the gold and emerald bed,
A tiny hint of musky scent remains on embroidered lotus.
Young Liu already regretted that Pengshan hill lay far away,
We two are separated by ten thousand Pengshan hills.

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Qiu Wei



AFTER MISSING THE RECLUSE
ON THE WESTERN MOUNTAIN

To your hermitage here on the top of the mountain
I have climbed, without stopping, these ten miles.
I have knocked at your door, and no one answered;
I have peeped into your room, at your seat beside the table.
Perhaps you are out riding in your canopied chair,
Or fishing, more likely, in some autumn pool.
Sorry though I am to be missing you,
You have become my meditation --
The beauty of your grasses, fresh with rain,
And close beside your window the music of your pines.
I take into my being all that I see and hear,
Soothing my senses, quieting my heart;
And though there be neither host nor guest,
Have I not reasoned a visit complete?
...After enough, I have gone down the mountain.
Why should I wait for you any longer?

Monday, June 20, 2011

Li Yu (937-978)



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

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Cai Yuqing



South of the River, North of the River, Ten Thousand Mountains
Cai Yuqing

South of the river
North of the river
Ten Thousand Mountains,
Rare flowers, strange plants,
sealed with white mist.
You have explored everywhere
secluded dark places.
At one with mountains
spirts guard remote distance.
Tall and straight
forever handsome,
Fighting and floating
visited the red pines.
Sure grip, remarkable books
I read your travel diaries,
Pause at the sweet fragrance
marvel at your broad mind.

Friday, June 17, 2011

Wang Wei



THE BEAUTIFUL XI SHI

Since beauty is honoured all over the Empire,
How could Xi Shi remain humbly at home? --
Washing clothes at dawn by a southern lake --
And that evening a great lady in a palace of the north:
Lowly one day, no different from the others,
The next day exalted, everyone praising her.
No more would her own hands powder her face
Or arrange on her shoulders a silken robe.
And the more the King loved her, the lovelier she looked,
Blinding him away from wisdom.
...Girls who had once washed silk beside her
Were kept at a distance from her chariot.
And none of the girls in her neighbours' houses
By pursing their brows could copy her beauty.
018

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Bai Juyi (772-846)



Reading Laozi
.
Those who speak do not know, those who know are silent,
I heard this saying from the old gentleman.
If the old gentleman was one who knew the way,
Why did he feel able to write five thousand words?

Monday, June 13, 2011

Du Fu (712-770)



Chancellor Of Shu [Zhuge Liang]
Dù Fǔ 712-770

Shu Chancellor's memorial shrine
where shall I seek?
Beyond Brocade Mandarin's City
there cypresses throng.
Emerald grass gleams on the steps
for itself spring hues;
A yellow oriole screened by leaves
in vain his fine song.
Three times persistently importuned
an empire-wide plan;
Two reigns founded & preserved--
the old servant's will.
Before his mustered army's triumph
first he lost his life,
Summoning up heroes' tears
to flood their bosoms still.

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Su Shi (1036-1101)



Visiting the Temple of Auspicious Fortune Alone on Winter Solstice
.
Deep at the bottom of the well no warmth has yet returned,
The rain which sighs and feels so cold has dampened withered roots.
What sort of man at such a time would come to visit the teacher?
As this is not a time for flowers, I find I've come alone.

Friday, June 10, 2011

Meng Haoran



ON CLIMBING ORCHID MOUNTAIN
IN THE AUTUMN TO ZHANG

On a northern peak among white clouds
You have found your hermitage of peace;
And now, as I climb this mountain to see you,
High with the wildgeese flies my heart.
The quiet dusk might seem a little sad
If this autumn weather were not so brisk and clear;
I look down at the river bank, with homeward-bound villagers
Resting on the sand till the ferry returns;
There are trees at the horizon like a row of grasses
And against the river's rim an island like the moon
I hope that you will come and meet me, bringing a basket of wine --
And we'll celebrate together the Mountain Holiday.

Wang Wei



A GREEN STREAM

I have sailed the River of Yellow Flowers,
Borne by the channel of a green stream,
Rounding ten thousand turns through the mountains
On a journey of less than thirty miles....
Rapids hum over heaped rocks;
But where light grows dim in the thick pines,
The surface of an inlet sways with nut-horns
And weeds are lush along the banks.
...Down in my heart I have always been as pure
As this limpid water is....
Oh, to remain on a broad flat rock
And to cast a fishing-line forever!

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Li Yu 937- 978



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

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Zhang Yue (667-791)



Delayed on the Sichuan Road

A traveler races the sun and moon
Coming and going according to plan
But Autumn wind doesn't wait
It reaches Luoyang before me

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Du Mu (803-852)



Drunken Sleep
.
The beer's brewed well amid the autumn rain,
The cold house sits amid the falling leaves.
The hermit spends a lot of time asleep,
He pours and drains another cup of beer.

Saigyo (1118 - 1190 / Japan)



Having Seen Them Long

Having seen them long,
I hold the flowers so dear
That when they scatter
I find it all the more sad
To bid them my last farewell

Monday, June 6, 2011

Du Fu (712-770)



A Madman
Dù Fǔ 712-770

West from Myriad League Bridge stands a Hall of Thatch;
Waters of Hundred Flower Tarn are my Waves of Watchet.
Wind enfolds alcedine bamboo
bright & gracefully pure;
Rains ablute pink lotuses
slow and gradually fragrant.
From amply salaried old friends
all letters curtailed;
My ever famished young sons
your complexions pallid.
About to be tossed into a ditch
just be unrestrained--
I laugh at myself
a madman
the older the madder

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Tao Qian (365-427)



Drinking Wine
.
I made my home amidst this human bustle,
Yet I hear no clamour from the carts and horses.
My friend, you ask me how this can be so?
A distant heart will tend towards like places.
From the eastern hedge, I pluck chrysanthemum flowers,
And idly look towards the southern hills.
The mountain air is beautiful day and night,
The birds fly back to roost with one another.
I know that this must have some deeper meaning,
I try to explain, but cannot find the words.

Friday, June 3, 2011

Su Shi (1036-1101)



Dabeige Ji, At Chengdu
Su Shi 1036-1101

I ponder over us mortals with two eyes and two arms,
Who, when objects arise, are unable to respond.
With wild delusions and utter confusion,
We react by becoming filled with desire.
Distraught and beset by anxious thoughts.
Even though anxious thought is inherently unreal,
We might as well have no eyes and no arms!
When objects arise, then the mind also arises.
However, the bodhisattva is never anxious,
But responds to whatever need responding to,
And there is nothing that is not appropiately met.
A taut bow set with a white arrow.
Sword and shield made of maple wood;
Sutra scrolls and incense flowers.
A finger bowl made of maple wood;
A large jeweled censer made of coral;
A white whisk, a vermilion hazelwood staff,
The bodhisattva understands all he meets,
And that which he grasps, he does not doubt.
How has the bodhisattva attained to this no-doubt?
Because his "self" is a self of no-mind,
If the bodhisattva still possessed a mind,
Then a thousand arms would mean a thousand minds.
And a thousand minds inside one single body--
What a terrible struggle that would cause!
How would the bodhisattva have time to respond?
But because these thousand hands have no-mind,
Each arm is able to find its own place.
Bowing my head to the Great Compassionate One,
I vow to help all sentient beings cross over.
That they may all find the Way of no-mind,
And all be of a thousand arms, a thousand eyes.

Wang Wei



Birds Calling in the Ravine
.
I'm idle, as osmanthus flowers fall,
This quiet night in spring, the hill is empty.
The moon comes out and startles the birds on the hill,
They don't stop calling in the spring ravine.

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Wang Wei



AT PARTING

I dismount from my horse and I offer you wine,
And I ask you where you are going and why.
And you answer: "I am discontent
And would rest at the foot of the southern mountain.
So give me leave and ask me no questions.
White clouds pass there without end."

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Bai Juyi (772-846)



Reading Zhuangzi

Leaving homeland, parted from kin, banished to a strange place,
I wonder my heart feels so little anguish and pain.
Consulting Chuang Tzu, I find where I belong:
surely my home is there in Not-Even-Anything land.