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The water’s breath mingles with reflected mountains;
Autumn has come to the vast sky.
It's a joy to see temples hidden deep in the forest,
Regret the broken silence when
My boat moves from the shore.
Sparse reeds are snapping,
Though it isn’t cold yet;
A rainbow’s fragment arches in the setting sun.
Which way now to my little hut?
The fisherman’s songs bring thoughts of home.

~ Lin Pu (967-1028)



i ponder the significance of numbers
and i see none

108

Snow covers earth and sky
Everything is new
My body is concealed
Inside a silver world
Suddenly I enter
A treasury of light
A place forever free of
Any trace of dust.

~ Han-shan Te-ch’ing
(1546-1623)

When I see
The purity of
The lotus flower,
Then my heart
No longer is stained.

~ Mokuan (1611-1684)

Look up to heaven and down on earth,
and they will remind you of their impermanency.

Look about the world,
and it will remind you of its impermanency.

But when you gain spiritual enlightenment,
you shall then find wisdom.

The knowledge thus attained leads you to the Way.

Sutra of Forty Two Chapters

In the mountains
Are many companions of the Way,
Sitting Zen, chanting,
Forming a natural community.
But if you gazed
Far off from city walls,
In this direction,
All you would see is white clouds.

~ Wang Wei (701-761)

The way to true spirituality
Cannot depend upon others;
One instant of enlightenment
And I go beyond body and self.
The myriad and profound virtues are complete

Anywhere in the universe is now my home.


~ Mokuan (1611-1684)

Something has existed
Before heaven and earth;
Shapeless and silent
In its origin,
Yet the master of
Every image and form,
Can never wither
With the passing of time.

~ Bankei (1622-1693)

In the realm of True Purity, there is no such thing as “I” or “He” or “She,” nor can “friend” or “foe” be found there.

But the slightest confusion of mind brings innumerable differences and complications.
Peace and disorder in the world, the distinction between friend and foe in human relationships,
follow upon one another as illusion begets delusion.

A person of spiritual insight will immediately recognize what is wrong and before long rid themselves of such an illusion.

~ Muso Kokushi (1275-1351)

The hidden birds on the treetops
Sing without pause
The sky clears, the rain stops,
The window brightens.

From the West came the wondrous
Meaning without words,
It may be gold dust;
Don’t let it get in your eyes.

~ Zhengue (12th c)

Don’t you know that afflictions are
Nothing more than wisdom?
But to cling to your afflictions
Is nothing more than foolishness.
As they rise and then melt away again,
You must remember this:
The sparrow hawk flies through Silla
Without anyone noticing.

~ Benming