(689–740)
Master I’s Chamber in the Ta-yu Temple
I-KUNG’S place to practice Ch’an:
a hut in an empty grove.
Outside the door, a single pretty peak.
Before the stair, deep valleys.
Sunset confused in footprints of the rain.
Blue of the void in the shade of the court.
Look, and see the lotus blossom’s purity:
know then that nothing taints this heart.
[J.P.S.]
Spring Dreams
IN spring, I dream through dawn,
but hear birds everywhere, singing.
O voice of all-night wind and rain,
do you count the petals that are falling?
[S.H.]
A Night on the River
MOORED in island mist,
as the sun sets, a traveler’s grief arises.
Beyond the great plain, the sky closes on trees.
On this gentle river, the moon arrives.
[S.H.]