Six Short Zen Poems, Exquisitely Beautiful
Finding Self
Day after day seeking spring, yet spring eludes,
Footsteps shatter the peaks, clouds.
Returning, I pause to inhale the fragrance of plum blossoms,
Spring is already in full bloom at the branches.
A person, if only pursuing outward in all directions—east, west, north, and south—
where would they find themselves?
The self is within us.
Finding oneself is to find one's nature.
It is a difficult thing to recognize oneself.
And people in the world often fail to recognize themselves,
how pitiful they are, tormented and confused!
Breaking free from delusion
Like a trace that vanishes without a path,
gone as quickly as it came, accompanying everything it encountered.
Why ask about the fleeting affairs of life?
It's only a dream.
Life cannot escape delusion from birth to death.
If one cannot see through it, life is filled with delusion,
a continuous downward spiral, resulting in nothing gained.
Boundless connection
In the morning, flowers bloom in a sea of red,
in the evening, the trees stand empty as the flowers fall.
If one compares flowers to human affairs,
the flowers and affairs fade together.
The changing seasons—spring and autumn—
the rise and fall of thoughts—
the cycle of birth, aging, sickness, and death—
There is nothing to cling to.
Don't only focus on the transient glory and wealth of the present moment,
but also on the long future of your life.
A life's existence
In spring, willows are green, in autumn chrysanthemums are golden,
the glory of wealth is like a fleeting dream.
One year has four seasons of change,
the rise and fall of thoughts—
the cycle of birth, aging, sickness, and death—
There is nothing to cling to.
Don't only focus on the transient glory and wealth of the present moment,
but also on the long future of your life.
A life's existence
In spring, willows are green, in autumn chrysanthemums are golden,
the glory of wealth is like a fleeting dream.
One year has four seasons of change,
the rise and fall of thoughts—
the cycle of birth, aging, sickness, and death—
There is nothing to cling to.
Don't only focus on the transient glory and wealth of the present moment,
but also on the long future of your life.
A life's existence
In spring, willows are green, in autumn chrysanthemums are golden,
the glory of wealth is like a fleeting dream.
One year has four seasons of change,
the rise and fall of thoughts—
the cycle of birth, aging, sickness, and death—
There is nothing to cling to.
Don't only focus on the transient glory and wealth of the present moment,
but also on the long future of your life.
A life's existence
In spring, willows are green, in autumn chrysanthemums are golden,
the glory of wealth is like a fleeting dream.
One year has four seasons of change,
the rise and fall of thoughts—
the cycle of birth, aging, sickness, and death—
There is nothing to cling to.
Don't only focus on the transient glory and wealth of the present moment,
but also on the long future of your life.
——·
