No time
to lose worrying about
enlightenment — forget about
ambition, hide your talent in
the coalshed: let your
wisdom speak for
itself.
The power
of the sword lies not in anger
but in its unsheathed beauty: in potential.
The marvel of chi is that internalized, it radiates
in flow like a golden shaft of light
anchoring our spirit with
the universe.
An unspectacular life
may be a garden rich in delight,
in queer paths, perfumed herbs, and
marble cloisters. “I live a life of no major
accomplishments,” said the oldest man
alive. High living is ephemeral, quick
to change; the light soon dims
among tower peaks.
The fragrance
of blossoms soon passes;
the ripeness of fruit is gone in a
twinkling. Our time in this world is so
short, better to avoid regret: miss
no opportunity to savor
the ineffable.
Like a golden
beacon signaling on a moonless
night, tao guides our passage through this
transitory realm. In moments of darkness and pain
remember all is cyclical. Sit quietly behind
your wooden door: spring will
come again.
Life is a dream,
the years pass by like flowing waters.
Glamour and glory are transient as autumn smoke;
what tragedy — for with the sun set deeply in the
west, still there are those lost among
paths of disillusionment.
Our heart
should be clear as ice.
Forget all the worldly nonsense.
Sit calmly, breathe quietly, heart bright
and spotless as an empty mirror.
This is the path to
the buddha’s
table.