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At night, deep in the mountains,
I sit in meditation.
The affairs of people
Never reach here.

Everything is quiet and empty,
All the incense has been swallowed
Up by the endless night.
My robe has become a garment of dew.

Unable to sleep, I walk out into the woods;
Suddenly, above the highest peak,
The full moon appears.

~ Ryokan (1758-1831)

In my hermitage, a volume
Of Cold Mountain Poems;
It is better than any sutra.
I copy his verses and post
Them all around,
Savoring each one,
Over and over.

~ Ryokan (1758-1831)

When all thoughts
Are exhausted
I slip into the woods
And gather a pile of
Shepherd’s purse.
Like the little stream
Making its way
Through mossy crevices
I, too, quietly
Turn clear and transparent.

~ Ryokan (1758-1831)

Donned in simple garb,
I commune with the blooming bush,
With feelings peculiarly my own.

Just this day, my hairs have begun to turn white:
Last year, the flowers looked redder than these.
Their tender beauty is going the way
Of the morning dew,
Their fragrant breath is evaporating
Into the evening breeze.

Why must we wait for their wilting
And falling before we can realize
The evanescence of life?

~ Fa-yen

Deep in the valley, a beauty hides
Serene, peerless, incomparably sweet
In the still shade of the bamboo thicket
It seems to sigh softly for a lover

~ Ryokan (1758-1831)

You wish to know the spirit of Yung-ming Zen?
Look at the lake in front of the gate.
When the sun shines,
It radiates light and brightness.
When the wind comes,
There arise ripples and waves.

~ Yung-ming Yen-shou (904-975)

A final drop of dew
Or the first sparkling leaf;
Each illustrates
This brief temporal world
Through which all things pass.

~ Sojo Henjo (816-890)

Something there is,
Prior to heaven and earth,
Without form, without sound,
All alone by itself.
It has the power to control
All the changing things;
Yet it changes not
In the course of the four seasons.

~ Fu Ta-shih

The thick bamboo grove near my hut
Keeps me nice and cool.
Shoots proliferate, blocking the path,
While old branches reach for the sky.

Years of frost give bamboo spirit;
They are most mysterious
When wrapped in mist.
Bamboo is hardy as pine and oak,
And more subtle than peach or
Plum blossoms.

It grows straight and tall,
Empty inside but with a sturdy root.
I love the purity and honesty of my bamboo,
And want them to thrive here always!

~ Ryokan (1758-1831)

Thinking it’s moonrise I see in the West
And sunset I’m watching blaze in the East,
I hike on until dark, then linger out in the night
Sheltered away in deep expanses of shadow.

Immune to high importance: that’s renown.
Walk humbly, and it’s all promise in beauty.
In quiet mystery the way runs smooth,
Ascending remote heights beyond compare.

Utter tranquility, the distinction between
Yes this and no that lost, I embrace primal
Unity, thought and silences woven together,
That deep healing where we venture forth.

~ Hsieh Ling-yun (385-433)

If you want to go to the pure land,
Then purify your mind.
When your mind is pure,
Then whatever you see will be pure
And wherever you go
You will find the Buddha realm.

Vimalakirti Nirdesa Sutra

With the snows over
In the Chung-nan Mountains,
Spring approaches again.
Distant, moving,
The range’s blue jade
Meets the world’s red dust.
A thousand carriages,
Ten thousand horsemen
Pass through the Nine Crossroads,
And not one person turns his head
To see the mountains.

~ Po Chu-I (772-846)

Thinking back, I recall my days at Entsu-ji
And the solitary struggle to find the Way.
Carrying firewood reminded me of Layman Ho;
When I polished rice, the sixth Patriarch
Came to mind.
I was always first in line to receive
Master’s teaching, and never
Missed an hour of meditation.

Thirty years have flown by since
I left the green hills and blue sea
Of that lovely place.
What has become of all my
Fellow disciples?
And how can I forget the kindness
Of my beloved teacher?
The tears flow on and on,
Blending with the swirling mountain stream.

~ Ryokan (1758-1831)

Each and every living thing,
Without exception,
Has the Buddha nature.

~ Dogen

@rookie54 said
Each and every living thing,
Without exception,
Has the Buddha nature.

~ Dogen