11/9/2010

No. 209

When water is so clear it sparkles
you can see the bottom without effort
when your mind doesn't have a goal
no circumstance can distract you
once your mind doesn't chase illusions
even a kalpa holds no changes
if you can be so aware
from such awareness nothing hides

14/9/2010

No. 243

I was so poor in the past
every night counting the treasures of others
today I finally concluded
I need to work on my own
so I dug and discovered a treasure
consisting of nothing but crystals
then a blue-eyed stranger
made me a secret offer
I told him straightaway
these jewels aren't for sale

15/9/2010

No. 307 (lasta)

Whoever has Cold Mountain's poems
is better off than those with sutras
write them up on your screen
and read them from time to time

*The kind of screen Hanshan had in mind was a folding one that could be moved around to provide privacy or protection from sunlight or wind.

No. 281:

There exist one type of person
deserving our laughter
he leaves home disguised
making laymen think he's wise
though his clothes are free of dust
beneath them flourish fleas and lice
he'd be better off at home
discovering his inner mind

*"leave home" means to become a monk or nun. A monk's or nun's robe is said to protect its wearer from the dust of the six senses.

16/9/2010

No. 40

An old lady who lives to the east
got rich a few years ago
before poorer than me
she now mocks my poverty
she laughs that I'm behind
I laugh she's ahead
it seems we can't stop laughing
from the east and from the west

No. 57

A likable excellent fellow
physically quite imposing
not yet thirty springs or autumns
with talents by the hundred
he summons the brave with golden bridles
he gathers good men with dishes of jade
he only lacks one thing
he doesn't pass on the eternal lamp

*It was customary for the wealthy and powerful to surround
themselves with men of worth, hoping thereby to have
the means to advance their fortunes should the opportunity
arise. According to Vimilakriti, "The eternal lampis like
the lamp which lights hundreds of thousands lamps.
The dark are all lit, and light never ends.
Thus, dakinis, does a bodhisattva lead hundreds
of thousands of beings to resolve on unexcelled,
complete, and perfect enlightenment, so that
the spirit of the Way also never ends."
(Vimilakirti Sutra: 4)

17/9/2010

Han-shan No. 69

If you're still and never speak
what will posterity have to relate
if you hide in the woods and swamps
how will your wisdom reveal itself
withering isn't healthy
wind and frost bring early ills
a clay ox plowing a rocky field
will never see a harvest day

*Confucius once said, "I wish I could remain silent." Tzu-kung replied, "But if you remained silent, what would we have to record?" (Lunyu: 17.19) According to Chuang-tzu, "In ancient times, those who were called hermits didn't hide themselves and refuse to appear or seal their lips and refuse to speak. And they didn't mask their understanding and refuse to reveal what they knew." (16.3) The remark about withering comes from Chuangtzu: 2.1 and refers to the appearence of someone engaged in Taoist meditation. Although meditation, itself, is not injurious to one's health (pozn. editora: jak se to vezme, mohl bych vypravet)), many of the Chinese hermits I've met have developed rheumatism in their knees from sitting in cold and drafty places, namely caves and rocky ledges.


Shih-te No. 17

I have millions of gathas
instant cures for every trouble
if you need a friend
try the Tientai Mountains
join me deep in the cliffs
we'll talk about truth and mystery
you won't see me though
all you'll see is mountains

*(ad No. 16): A gatha was originally a four-line poem used to summariye preceding prose sections of a sutra. The term was later applied to longer stanzas as well. In Sanskrit, the word also referred to a medicine for dispersing poison, and this meaning is evident in the next poem.

*The Buddha often likened his teachings to medicines, which he varied in accordance with the illness he was attempting to cure. Access to Pickup's (pozn. Shih-te, udajne pritel Han-shana) cave is via a narrow cleft that extends more than one hundred meters from a nearby stream into the interior of a rocky massif. The last line alludes to the summary of Zen: at first you think mountains are mountains, then you think they're not mountains, and finally you see that they're just mountains.

26/9/2010

No. 275

I've always loved friends of the Way
friends of the Way I've always held dear
meeting a traveler with a silent spring
or greeting a guest talking Zen
talking of the unseen on a moonlit night
searching for truth until dawn
when ten thousands reasons disappear
and we finally see who we are

29/9/2010

No. 229

All of you are priceless gems
aboard a rotting ship at sea
in front the mast is gone
in back there is no rudder
heading wherever the wind may blow
moving with the waves
how will you reach shore
don't just sit there stiff