How boring to sit idly on the floor,
Not meditating, not breaking through.
Look at the horses racing along
The Kamo River!
That's zazen!
- Daito (1282-1334)
No one knows this mountain I inhabit:
Deep in white clouds, forever empty, silent.
-Han Shan (7th-9th cent)
You ask why I live in the mountain forest,
I smile, and am silent,
and even deep within remain quiet:
the peach trees blossom,
the water flows.
- Li T’ai-po (701-?)
When I find you again,
It will be in mountains;
This morning I lose you
Once more to farewell.
Free of attachment
In heart and mind
Is that why you can go
Ten thousand miles alone?
Traveling without disciples,
You have only
A white horse
For company.