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The winds have died, but flowers go on falling; by Ryokan (1758 - 1831) Timeline English version by Sam Hamill Original Language Japanese Buddhist : Zen / Chan 18th Century The winds have died, but flowers go on falling; birds call, but silence penetrates each song. The Mystery! Unknowable, unlearnable. The virtue of Kannon.     -- from The Poetry of Zen: (Shambhala Library), Edited by Sam Hamill / Edited by J. P. Seaton Amazon.com   / Photo by fotologic /	Themes   Birds   Death   Garden   Lotus   Rose Recommended Books Between the Floating Mist: Poems of Ryokan, Translated by Hide Oshiro / Translated by Dennis Maloney Between Two Souls: Conversations with Ryokan, by Mary Lou Kownacki Dewdrops on a Lotus Leaf: Zen Poems of Ryokan, Translated by John Stevens The Enlightened Heart: An Anthology of Sacred Poetry, by Stephen Mitchell Great Fool: Zen Master Ryokan: Poems, Letters, and Other Writings, Translated by Ryuichi Abe More >>
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Commentary by Ivan M. Granger

I like the way this short Zen poem taps into the melancholy of autumn. That meditative ache leads us to something deeper, a quiet awareness of subtle life continuing steadily beneath the ebb and flow of outer phenomena -- The Mystery!

(And the reference to Kannon -- that's the Japanese name for Kwan Yin, the female boddhisattva of compassion, healing, and providence, a sort of mother goddess figure in some strands of Buddhism.)

Ivan M. Granger's original poetry, stories and commentaries are Copyright © 2002 - 2011 by Ivan M. Granger.
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