Present

 

Present ... to or not to

Mountain dwelling

Things of the past are already long gone
and things to be, distant beyond imagining.
The Tao is just this moment, these words:
plum blossoms fallen; gardenias opening.

Ch'ing Kung

(d.1352)

Impediment

Impediment ... a matter of circumventing

The moon

abiding in the midst of

serene mind;

billows break

into light.

Dogen

(1200-1253)

 

Focus

Focus ... distraction's only natural 

 

Earth, river, mountain:

snowflakes melt in air.

How could I have doubted?

Where's north? south? east? west?

Dangai

(c.1127-1279)

Caught

Caught ... a lost consciousness

Sixty-six years

piling sins,

I leap into hell - 

above life and death.

T'ien-t'ung Ju-ching

(1183-1228)

 

Assessment

 

To choose but not to judge

Clouds appear free of care

and carefree drift away.

But the carefree mind is not to be "found" -

to find it, first stop looking around.

Wang An-shih

(1021-1086)

july 2024

Fearless

Fearless ... is not about size

 Green mountains father white clouds:
white clouds are the children of mountains.
White clouds hang around all day.
Mostly the mountain doesn't mind.

T'ung-shan Liang-chieh

(807-869)

Natural

Natural ... if we allow it

 Lute

My lute set aside 

   on the little table,

lazily I meditate 

   on cherished feelings.

The reason I don't bother 

   to strum and pluck?

There's a breeze over the strings 

   and it plays itself.

Po Chu-i

(772-846)