Lu Tung Pin - People may sit till the cushion is worn through,

March 16, 2009

An interesting verse from Ivan --- On Mon, 16/3/09, Poetry Chaikhana <ivan wrote:

Poetry Chaikhana <ivan[Poetry Chaikhana] Lu Tung Pin - People may sit till the cushion is worn through,alanadamsjacobsDate: Monday, 16 March, 2009, 3:41 PM

Here's your Daily Poem from the Poetry Chaikhana --

People may sit till the cushion is worn through,

By Lu Tung Pin(755 - 805)

English version by T. C. Lai

People may sit till the cushion is worn through,But never quite know the real Truth:Let me tell about the ultimate Tao:It is here, enshrined within us.

/ Photo by SuperFantastic /

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Thought for the Day:

Rogues too realize.

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Hi Alan -Simple and direct. These few lines say so much, lines that should make the self-consciously pious squirm in their seats.When Lu Tung Pin asserts--People may sit till the cushion is worn through,But never quite know the real Truth:--he is saying one can do marathon meditations but never attain realization. He isn't being critical of meditation itself; he is saying that simply following the forms, the traditions, the spiritual practices set out for us won't do the job. In other words, following the rules won't get us into heaven.The task isn't accomplished through effort or iron will. The game isn't won through agility or perfect strategy. The great masters of the Tao know:It is here, enshrined within us.Truth, the ultimate Tao, is not earned; it bursts forth from your breast.So, sit, yes. (Or pray, or chant,

or bow.) But find the secret that unlocks the way within you...---Lu Tung Pin (Lu Dong Bin, sometimes referred to as Immortal Lu) was one of the Eight Immortals of Taoist folk tales. It is difficult to separate out legendary tales that have accumulated around him from possible historical fact, or whether the poems attributed to him were written by the historical person or attributed to him later.Lu Tung Pin is said to have been born in 755 in Shansi province of China. As Lu grew up, he trained to be a scholar at the Imperial Court, but he did not pass the required examination until late in life.He met his teacher Chung-Li Chuan in a marketplace where the Taoist master was scrawling a poem on the wall. Impressed by the poem, Lu Tung Pin invited the old man to his home where they cooked some millet. As the millet was cooking Lu dozed and dreamed that he had passed the court examination, had a large family, and eventually

rose to a prominent rank at the court -- only to lose it all in a political fall. When he awoke, Chung-Li Chuan said:"Before the millet was cooked,The dream has brought you to the Capital."Lu Tung Pin was stunned that the old man had known his dream. Chung-Li Chuan replied that he had understood the nature of life, we rise and we fall, and it all fades in a moment, like a dream.Lu asked to become the old man's student, but Chung-Li Chuan said Lu had many years to go before he was ready to study the Way. Determined, Lu abandoned everything and lived a simple life in order to prepare himself to study the Great Tao. Many tales are told of how Chung-Li Chuan tested Lu Tung Pin until Lu had abandoned all worldly desires and was ready for instruction.He learned the arts of swordsmanship, outer and inner alchemy and attained the immortality of enlightenment.Lu Tung Pin considered compassion to be the essential

element of realizing the Tao. He is greatly revered as a physician who served the poor.Ivan

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Ivan M. Granger's original poetry, stories and commentaries are 2002 - 2008 by Ivan M. Granger.All other material is copyrighted by the respective authors, translators and/or publishers.

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