Tran Nhan Tong

After The Dance
Tran Nhan Tong 1258-1308

After the dance of 'gia chi'
let us don our robes of spring,
Auspiciously
today is Thanh Minh Festival.
Trays are full of spring rolls and rubies,
An ancient custom of Vietnam.

Zi Ye, Collection of Chinese Folk Songs

All night I could not sleep
because of the moonlight on my bed.
I kept on hearing a voice calling:
Out of Nowhere, Nothing answered "yes."

Hsu Yun

MIRROR POND ON MOUNT TAIBO IN SHANXI

The water and my mind have both settled down
Into perfect stillness.
Sun and moon shine bright in it.

At night I see in the surface
The enormous face of my old familiar moon.
I don't think you've ever met the source of this reflection.

All shrillness fades into the sound of silence.
But now and then a puff of mist floats across the mirror.

It confuses me a little
But not enough to make me forget to forget my cares.

Saigo (Awesome Nightfall)

The moon, like you,
is far away from me, but it's our sole memento:
if your look and recall our past through it,
we can be one mind.

Ouyang Xiu

A Light Boat With Short Oars (Picking Mulberries)

.
A light boat with short oars- West Lake is good.
A gentle curve in the green water,
Fragrant grass along the dyke,
The faint sound of pipes and song follows me everywhere.

Without a wind, the water's surface lies as smooth as glaze.
I don't notice boats passing,
Tiny movements start up ripples,
Startled birds rise from the sand and graze the bank in flight.

Ngo An, Korea (circe1090)

True nature is always elusive,
Only the heart of no-heart
can grasp-it.
Up in the mountain,
the burning jade stays brilliant.
And in the roaring furnace,
lotus blossoms keep their fragrance.

Lu Tung Pin

Sojourning in Ta-yu mountains
by Lu Tung Pin
(755 - 805) Timeline

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

Loy Ching-Yuen

To know Tao
by Loy Ching-Yuen
(1873 - 1960) Timeline


To know Tao
meditate
and still the mind.
Knowledge comes with perseverance.

The Way is neither full nor empty;
a modest and quiet nature understands this.
The empty vessel, the uncarved block;
nothing is more mysterious.

When enlightenment arrives
don't talk too much about it;
just live it in your own way.
With humility and depth, rewards come naturally.

The fragrance of blossoms soon passes;
the ripeness of fruit is gone in a twinkling.
Our time in this world is so short,
better to avoid regret:
Miss no opportunity to savor the ineffable.

Like a golden beacon signaling on a moonless night,
Tao guides our passage through this transitory realm.
In moments of darkness and pain
remember all is cyclical.
Sit quietly behind your wooden door:
Spring will come again.

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 falling.