One Mind

One mind perceives

infinite time.

One is all.

Everything is one.

To let go one's hands

when hanging over a cliff

is to be a great man.

Winter goes North,

Spring comes from the South.

by Zen Master Seung Sahn

Zen Master Seung Sahn

Many years ago I collected the Poems that were written by Zen Master Seung Sahn following his encouragement of me trying to write Zen Poetry. I have often thought of publishing this work but have chosen not to deal with the intellectual capital issues with the Kwan Um School of Zen. My issues are not about ownership, they are about sharing the teachings of a great teacher.

Most of these are public domain, and as I don't make any profit off this blog, I will shift from mainly my own poetry, to sharing some of the brilliant insights of a great and honest Zen Master. So, until I post differently, I will be posting poems written by Seung Sahn and will try to post only those that haven't been cataloged in his book Bone of Space.

mere thoughts of the moment

life and death
are the same.
good and bad
are manifest
sometimes simultaneously.
opposites are merely
made in the mind,
we exist
outside of thought
yet few understand.
stop all this thinking
which creates
the dukkha,
just breathe
and see
the expression
of the senses.
be as the moments unfold,
be as the sounds
rise and fall,
be when you feel,
and be when you smell,
all will be simple
within this simple direction
beyond thoughts.

for my mother, Maud

based up recent posts on my Zen Mirror Blog I thought I'd post this poem for my mom.



for my mother, Maud

吊唁母親茂德

there comes a time in everyone’s life
人生在世
when the finality of death
終于一死
becomes an intimate yet unwanted friend,
誰人無死
and we find ourselves with no other choice
無可耐何

but to grieve
悲痛萬分
and to let go
離別淒涼
and to remember
無限懷念
the brightness that we all once shared.
美好回憶

in those times of her life-
她的一生
which she lived just right,
無可非議
I can find myself here and now
此刻吾身
being sanctified by this very moment.
深受淨化

the presence of her blessings
籠罩福音
both cherished and sacred deep within my soul.
悲歡交加
for all the myriad reasons
萬千原由
that we find our own breath flowing in and out,
你我呼吸

it is in just this way
不外如此
that we open to cycles of human existence,
生命循環
we can pay homage to the legacy
孝忠為道
of each moment, each single moment
每時每刻

this can not be explained.
無需解釋
love is the universal force
愛為天責
between us all,
深入人心
and those who are left behind
後來之士

with our treasured relationships
以愛為懷
that will never – ever – pass from this bounded existence
永恒天下
realize the importance of sharing that love – just now.
博愛無價

a thousand paths

what would you have me say
about the thousands of paths
that lead to the same ultimate summit?
is it this practice
or this body
or even this lifetime
that allows us to
see the connection
of all humanity
in a drop of rain.
I cannot say what I am,
yet I do exist
for the moment,
but what is that existence
if I squander it on thinking
and miss the ultimate
reality of the unfolding?
I must say this
you are
and this is the truth,
but what is the truth
or your existence
now!

miramar beach two

for six hundred billion years
this satellite in space
spins three hundred sixty five
and a quarter times
to complete its endless trip.
the passage of one revolution
about its axis.
the passage of one rotation
about its star.
six hundred billion times—
and still this wonder,
water in the ocean—
older than imagination.
the stars in the heavens—
hotter than comprehension.
we come into this world
with nothing in our hands—
we leave this world
and where do we go?
the ocean, the sun and sky
are constant reminders
salty smell—
warm breeze—
blue sky—
how can I help you today?

we see

we see,
yet with a blind eye
we justify our idea
of what the present
reality must be.

we hear,
yet with our cognition,
we transmute
the meaning
into one of own.

we feel,
yet will dull senses
we grasp at all
we can feel
in the shortest amount of time.

we smell,
yet we discern
the natural from unnatural
and say that one
is better than the other.

we taste,
yet we disdain all
that we do not understand.
we say that I do not like this
yet we have yet to move
into the light of understanding.

just see
that I am pure,
just hear
my words of love,
just feel,
the moment of bliss,
just smell,
the scent of millennia,
just taste,
your own essence on my lips.

who has come,
has also gone,
and in the midst of
this coming and going
is a place
that neither knows
now,
past
or
future.

be
and
all
there
is
becomes
all
that
ever
has
become.