Friday, January 12, 2007
KOANs to Ponder Series
And now, in the spirit of religious diversity, a koan...how about it, Israel, give an inch to the Palestinians??? Mountain ranges
one over
another--
Talk out
the mountain-cloud,
| sea-moon feelings. | (47) |
One mind
lost in the plum;
The body, chanting,
now utterly frozen
| --unaware. | (48) |
A west wind passes
over the rain;
Evening sun
focuses
| on the begonia. | (49) |
A speck of dust flies up and hides the heavens;
A piece of trash falls down
| and covers the earth. | (50) |
An inch of tortoise hair weighs
| seven pounds. | (51) |
Cry after cry
after cry of joy--
Not minding
the hair
| turning white. | (52) |
The sound of a flute
from the high pavilion
Scatters the full-blooming
plum blossoms
| all over the ground. | (33) |
One rooster's cry preaches
| the heaven-and-earth dawn. | (54) |
Shouldering the plank
| --till death. | (55) |
A crash of thunder opens
the crown of the head,
Revealing
Original
| Man. | (56) |
All your life draw nails,
Pull out stakes
| for others. | (57) |
Thunder rolls once:
| a clear wind rises. | (58) |
One roar of thunder--
Burrowing worms all at once
open their doors.
From:
ZenForests: Sayings of the Masters
Book by Sōiku Shigematsu, Sōiku Shigematsu; Weatherhill, 1981
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Wonderful, powerful poem. Can you imagine if the Israelis could just once see it through the eyes of the Palestinians? Just once? Jees.
The whole thing is so beautiful. I set my desktop background to the lily pad so I will think of the words too.
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