Mar 18 2013
Li Po – The birds have vanished into the sky
The birds have vanished into the sky
by Li Po
English version by Sam Hamill
The birds have vanished into the sky,
and now the last cloud drains away.
We sit together, the mountain and me,
until only the mountain remains.
— from Endless River: Li Po and Tu Fu: A Friendship in Poetry, Translated by Sam Hamill
/ Photo by FelineShadowDancer /
We can read a lot into this poem, or very little.
One way to read Li Po’s poem is that the birds are like chattering thoughts. They represent the movement within the mind. But thoughts can soar so high, reach such elevated levels, that they vanish in the sky of mind.
The clouds might be understood as obstructions of awareness, limiting the perception of the untainted vast sky-mind. And, with the birds, clouds too “drain away” in deep stillness.
(Yet, even when clouds are thick and heavy, even when birds flit about in their busyness, the sky itself, original mind, contains it all and remains pure and untainted beyond the obstructions.)
The mountain is that which is eternal, fixed, both rooted in the earth and touching the heavens. Watching this “mountain” of eternal presence long enough, in deep stillness you find that you are nowhere to be seen. You are surprised to discover that everything you reflexively called “me” was never really there in the first place, and “only the mountain remains.” The “mountain” is finally recognized as your true Self, your only self, eternal. Effortlessly, you bridge heaven and earth by your very nature. And only That remains.
OR –
You can ignore all of that, and just step into the landscape.
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Li Po |
Li Po (also transliterated as Li Pai or Li Bai) was raised in Szechwan in western China. He traveled widely throughout China in his life.
In his 40s, he was appointed to a high academy position by the emperor in recognition of his work, but he was later exiled for political reasons. He then worked in the service of a southern prince who rose up in rebellion. When that prince lost his struggle, Li Po was exiled a second time, but eventually pardoned.
Li Po’s poetry is particularly known for its elegance. It suggests a certain serene poise in relationship to the world and the quiet mind observing it.
Thank you Ivan. Love this poem and your commentary today. All the best.
Thank you Ivan, for your enlightening interpretation of the poem. I always enjoy reading the poems you post as well as your personal responses to them.
Also, thanks to you and to your website, I was encouraged to publish my book of poems,
entitled WITH THE LAMP OF MY SOUL. It can be found on the Amazon.com, the Barnesandnoble.com, and the publisher Xlibris.com. under my maiden name, Helena Bango. I hope that you read it one day. Through your website I was guided toward the Xlibris.
Thank you kindly, Jelena.
Thank you, Beautiful. I enjoy your site.. it does bring me, much Joy. take care.
Love and Light*
Love this!!
that spirit has returned to its home
leaving the shell of the form
to drip away
that original image of the mountain
returns to it
leaving only it to remain
“There is no target falling short of him nor anything else to aim at beyond him. He is the outwardly manifest without the need of the illusion or the imagination and the inwardly hidden absolutely pure without that bringing into non-existence” ihya
Ah–Li Po’s blessed simplicity in his images revealing profound understanding of our eternal self.
Thank you for this poem, Ivan, and your commentary. It made me stop fussing around this morning and and just enjoy my being–in the stillness.
Namaste,
Therese
A simply beautiful thought:)
Thanks ,
Lakshmi Bhat