Poetry Chaikhana Sacred Poetry from Around the World

Buddhist : Zen / Chan 8th Century	About P'ang Yun Timeline (740? - 808)
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English version by Stephen Mitchell Original Language Chinese	When the mind is at peace,
Commentary by Ivan M. Granger Themes   Womb           Recommended Books The Enlightened Heart: An Anthology of Sacred Poetry, by Stephen Mitchell	When the mind is at peace, the world too is at peace. Nothing real, nothing absent. Not holding on to reality, not getting stuck in the void, you are neither holy nor wise, just an ordinary fellow who has completed his work.     -- from The Enlightened Heart: An Anthology of Sacred Poetry, by Stephen Mitchell Amazon.com
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Commentary by Ivan M. Granger

Such a beautiful, direct poem by Layman Pang.

"When the mind is at peace / The world too is at peace." What more is there to add other than experience it for oneself?

Discovering what the Buddhists would call original mind is not a game of settling neatly into definitions. You are not grasping something that is real or something that is not there. It is neither reality nor void. In original mind, you transcend all definitions and concepts. For there to be the solitary One, there is no further division in perception -- All is One. Reality and void are both One, and discovered in Buddha mind.

In this state you are not "wise" or "holy" -- those are further categories that others may or may not heap upon you. No, you just ARE. You are not this or that, you are. You no longer feel the need to do something to prove your existence; you undeniably are -- and your work is therefore completed.

Ivan M. Granger's original poetry, stories and commentaries are Copyright © 2002 - 2008 by Ivan M. Granger.
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