(710–785?)
Searching for the Taoist Monk Ch’ang at South Creek
THE way is crossed by many paths,
the moss by sandal tracks.
White clouds lean, at rest on the silent island.
Fragrant grasses bar the idle gate.
Rain past, observe the color of the pines.
Out along the mountain, to the source,
flowers in the stream reveal Ch’an’s meaning:
face-to-face, all words gone.
[J.P.S.]
Bidding Farewell to a Monk
FROM Bamboo Forest Temple,
I faintly hear the evening bell.
Twilight touches the brim of your hat
as you turn and enter dark blue hills.
[S.H.]