Han-shan

“The four seasons don’t ever stop to rest
The years come and the years go
The ten thousand things
Succeed themselves endlessly
But the universe itself does not die or decay
The east is bright and the west is dark
Flowers fall and flowers bloom again
Only the travelers to the Yellow Springs
Go shrouded in mystery and don’t return.”

Read Full Post »

Ikkyu

“A single moon
Bright and clear
In an unclouded sky;
Yet still we stumble
In the world’s darkness. “

Read Full Post »

Shih-tou

“Do away with your
Throat and lips,
And let me hear
What you can say.”

Read Full Post »

No Words

A cold evening in my empty room
Time flows by like the incense smoke arising.
Outside my door, a thousand stalks of bamboo,
Above my bed, how many books
The moon has come to whiten half my window,
The only sound in any direction
Is the singing of insects.
In this there is boundless feeling;
But as I encounter it, there are no [...]

Read Full Post »