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Independent of material existence,
Which is ever an obstruction,
Do not cling to deluded thoughts.
These give birth to illusion.

Attentively contemplate this mind,
Empty, devoid of all objects.
If emotions should suddenly arise,
You will fall into confusion.

~ Han Shan Te Ch’ing (1546-1623)

The tallest peaks
North of the district
Cliffs so high
The road is lost in clouds.
At dawn,
I climb the tower for a look,
Gradually feeling
Their serene effect.
In smoke-blue haze,
Massed peaks
Appear as if joined.
When will I climb
And set foot there,
And gaze on all
Creation below?

~ Chia Tao (779-843)

In a tangle of mountains
In autumn trees, a cave.
Hidden within,
A magic dragon pearl.
Poplar and cassia
Overlook a blue sea;
Rare fragrances waft
From a stone pagoda.
A monk since youth
You still have no white hairs;
You enter upon meditation,
In a frost-streaked robe.
Here there is no talk
Of the world’s affairs
Those matters that make
Wild the hearts of people.

~ Chia Tao (779-843)

At night, deep in the mountains,
I sit in meditation
The affairs of the world never reach here;
Everything is quiet and empty,
All the incense has been swallowed up
By the endless night.
My robe has become a garment of dew.
Unable to sleep I walk out into the woods
Suddenly, above the highest peak,
The full moon appears.

~ Hakuin (1686-1768)

Hypocrite.

Torn and tattered is this life.
Food? Wild vegetables off the trail.
The shrubs and bushes advance toward my hut.
Often the moon and I sit together all night,
And more than once I have lost myself among
The wild flowers,
Forgetting to return home.
No wonder I left the community life:
How could such a crazy monk live in a temple?

~ Ryokan Taigu (1758-1831)

Amidst a thousand clouds and ten
Thousand streams there lives
One ex-scholar.
By day wandering these green mountains;
At night coming home to sleep
Beneath a cliff.
Suddenly spring and fall have
Already passed by,
And no dust has piled up to disturb
This stillness.
Such happiness!
What do I depend on?
Here it’s as tranquil as autumn river water.

~ Han-shan

Blabbity blabbity blabbity
Shut up and rinse your cup
Did you want tea or not?

The Buddhas left their Sutras
Because people are hard to change
It’s not just a matter of saintly or stupid
Each and every heart throws up its barricade
Each piles up his own mountain of karma
How could they guess that what they clasp so close
Is sorrow
Unwilling to ponder, as day and night
They do embrace the falsehood of the flesh

~ Shih-te

If you want to learn the principles
Don’t study fine bound books
The True Pearl is in a hemp sack
The Buddha nature rests in huts
Many grasp the sack
But few open it.

~ Shih-te

Deep among ten thousand peaks
I sit alone cross-legged
A solitary thought fills
My empty mind
My body is the moon
That lights the winter sky
In rivers and in lakes
Are its only reflections.

~ Han-shan Te-ch’ing (1546-1623)

You cannot describe it or draw it,
You cannot praise it enough or perceive it.
No place can be found in which
To put the Original Face;
It will not disappear even
When the universe is destroyed.

~ Mumon (13th c.)

@rookie54 said
You cannot describe it or draw it,
You cannot praise it enough or perceive it.
No place can be found in which
To put the Original Face;
It will not disappear even
When the universe is destroyed.

~ Mumon (13th c.)

At the break of day I come to an old temple
As the first rays of the sun glow on the treetops.
A path in the bamboo grove leads to a quiet retreat:
A meditation hall hidden behind flowering boughs.
Here, mountain scenery delights,
And the reflections in the pond empty one’s mind.
All murmurings are stilled in this presence,
But for the echoes of chimes and bells.

~ Li Po (701-762)

@rookie54 said
At the break of day I come to an old temple
As the first rays of the sun glow on the treetops.
A path in the bamboo grove leads to a quiet retreat:
A meditation hall hidden behind flowering boughs.
Here, mountain scenery delights,
And the reflections in the pond empty one’s mind.
All murmurings are stilled in this presence,
But for the echoes of chimes and bells.

~ Li Po (701-762)