Zen poems.

Pen-ming (early 12th century Chinese nun). Zen Sourcebook.

Don’t you know that afflictions are nothing more than wisdom,
But to cling to them is nothing more than foolishness?
As they rise and melt away again, you must remember this:
The sparrow hawk flies through Silla without anyone noticing!

Don’t you know that afflictions are nothing more than wisdom
And that the purest of blossoms emerges from the mire?
If someone were to come and ask me what I do:
After eating my gruel and rice, I wash my bowl.
Don’t worry about a thing!

Don’t worry about a thing!
You may play all day like a silly child in the sand by the sea,
But you must always realize the truth of your original face!
When you suffer the blows delivered by the patriarch’s staff,
If you can’t say anything, you will perish by the staff,
If you can say something, you will perish by the staff.
In the end, what will you do
If you are forbidden to travel by night but must arrive by dawn?

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Musi Soseki. (1275-1351) Toki no-ge (Satori poem) Zen Sourcebook.

Year after year

I dug in the earth

looking for the blue of heaven

only to feel

the pile of dirt

choking me

until once in the dead of night

I tripped on a broken brick and kicked it into the air

and saw that without a thought

I had smashed the bones

of the empty sky.

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Hsiang-Kang (1597-1654) Zen Sourcebook.

How very elegant it is, with not even a single leak or hole!

When thirsty I drink; when hungry I eat, leaving not a crumb.

I understand that once washed, nothing more need be done,

Yet how many lost souls insist on attaching a handle to it!

Understand the ordinary mind, and realize one is naturally complete,

Ask urgently who you were before your father and mother were born.

When you have seen through the method that underlies them all,

The mountain blossoms and flowing streams will rejoice with you.