Hsu Yun: Mirror Pond on Mount Taibo in Shanxi

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Mirror Pond on Mount Taibo in Shanxi

Hsu Yun, Hsu Yun poetry, Buddhist, Buddhist poetry, Zen / Chan poetry, [TRADITION SUB2] poetry, poetry

by Hsu Yun
(1839 - 1959) Timeline

English version by
Zen Buddhist Order of Hsu Yun

Original Language
Chinese

Buddhist : Zen / Chan

19th Century

The water and my mind have both settled down
Into perfect stillness.
Sun and moon shine bright in it.
At night I see in the surface
The enormous face of my old familiar moon.
I don't think you've ever met the source of this reflection.
All shrillness fades into the sound of silence.
But now and then a puff of mist floats across the mirror.
It confuses me a little
But not enough to make me forget to forget my cares.

/ Photo by Tony George /

Themes

Light

Moon

Mountain

Night

Silence

Recommended Books

	A Drifting Boat: Chinese Zen Poetry, Edited by J. P. Seaton / Edited by Dennis Maloney
	Empty Cloud: The Autobiography of Chinese Zen Master, Hsu Yun, by Hsu Yun
	A Pictoral Biography of the Venerable Master Hsu Yun, by Hsuan Hua

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Commentary by Ivan M. Granger

You know, I could ramble on about layers of meaning and metaphor in this poem, mind and water, sun and moon reflecting on the surface, but doing so would overlook the heart of the poem: its stillness.

...not enough to make me forget to forget my cares.

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Poetry Chaikhana Sacred Poetry from Around the World

Poetry Chaikhana
Sacred Poetry from Around the World