Baishui Zen

My buddy over at Bodhi-Mind Buddhism has been curating verses and scriptures that speak to him from the Indian tradition. True to Chan Buddhist form, I am going to write all over these and respond to them with my own verses, when the mood strikes me. Unfortunately, my Chinese is bad, but I think writing little verses will help me practice. Here’s my first attempt, a late night contemplation on Samyutta Nikaya, 1.1

The original verse in English:

After a long time at last I see
A holy man who is fully quenched,
Who by not halting, not straining,
Has crossed over attachment to the world.

And my response verse, composed in Chinese:

不簡不難道展開
不緩不奮心自觀
畢滅者將到達岸
鑒從月脫生死近

Here’s the pinyin.

Bù jiǎn bù nán dào zhǎn kāi
Bù huǎn bù fèn xīn zì guān
Bì miè zhě jiāng dào dá àn
Jiàn cóng yuè tuō shēng sǐ jìn

It means:

Not easy, not hard, the way unfolds.
Not halting, not straining, the mind gazes at itself.
Those who are completely extinguished reach the other shore.
Reflected in the moon, liberation is right here.

-白水