Guest guest Posted February 1, 2010 Report Share Posted February 1, 2010 From Ivan---Here's your Daily Poem from the Poetry Chaikhana -- Immovable Mind By Yung-ming Yen-shou(904 - 975) English version by John C.H. Wu You wish to know the spirit of Yung-ming Zen?Look at the lake in front of the gate.When the sun shines, it radiates light and brightness,When the wind comes, there arise ripples and waves. -- from The Golden Age of Zen: Zen Masters of the T'ang Dynasty, by John C.H. Wu Amazon.com / Photo by tombream07 / ============ Thought for the Day: The only valid motivation is love --love for God,love for humanity,love for the living Earth.Anything less will fall short of your goal. ============ Here's your Daily Music selection -- Gabrielle Roth & The Mirrors + Chloe Goodchild Sundari Listen - Purchase More Music Selections Hi Alan -Yung-ming Yen-shou was the third patriarch of the Pure Land branch of Ch'an (Zen) Buddhism in China. He is said to have been a military official who converted from Confucianism to Buddhism.===Let's contemplate this image Yung-ming has given us: What does a lake have to do with Zen practice and the nature of mind? When the sun shines, it radiates light and brightness,When the wind comes, there arise ripples and waves.Like the mind, the lake naturally reflects its environment. When the sun is out, the lake/mind automatically "radiates light and brightness." But when wind arises, the lake/mind's surface is disturbed and disjointed.Let's carry this image a little further into the question of duality and unity. When the sun shines, the lake reflects that singular brightness. Witnessed from the right angle, you won't see anything else but the shining radiance, all other detail consumed in the light.Now let's picture a blustery night. Even if the sky is clear enough to show us the moon, the choppy surface of the lake reflects not one moon, but a thousand moons, each jostling and crashing into the others.This is how the perception of duality emerges in the mind. The surface of the mind becomes agitated. Rather than a single calm surface, a multiplicity of ripples and waves appear, move about, collide, and disappear again. And each wave has it's own incomplete reflective face, each with its own fragmented snapshot of reality, in conflict with the thousand other slightly different images.But are there truly a thousand moons in the night sky? Of course not, just the one. But the only way to discover this is to bring the lake's surface to quiet stillness again. It doesn't even require any effort. The mind's "water" naturally returns to a still, placid state. All we must do is cease to agitate the surface.Only then do we discover the one moon at night. Only then do we properly radiate the sun's brightness.One last thing I'd like to point out: Even during the most violent storm, no matter how much the surface of the lake churns and crashes, in its depths the lake remains still and at peace.Ivan Share Your Thoughts on today's poem or my commentary... New on the Poetry Chaikhana BlogIn addition to the daily poem, other recent blog posts include: The Celestial Drink 3: The Wine Press - Comments (2) Through the action of the wine press, we ourselves have become the sacrificial offering. The juice of that troublesome ego has become the sanctifying element. More The Celestial Drink 2: Thirst - Comments (2) This thirst must be acknowledged, cultivated, nurtured until it is a pain so sharp it clears the mind and orients the soul... More The Celestial Drink & Alcohol - Comments (1) In the past I've had a few emails pointing out that the language of the Celestial Drink email series raises warning flags for people who've struggled alcoholism. I have loved ones who are recovering alcoholics, so I understand how serious this question is... More Support the Poetry Chaikhana Donations to the Poetry Chaikhana in any amount are always welcome. Thank you! Click here You can also support the Poetry Chaikhana, as well as the authors and publishers of sacred poetry, by purchasing some of the recommended books through the links on this site. Thank you! Click here A small amount each month makes a big difference. Become a voluntary Subscriber for just $2/mo. Click here Help the Poetry Chaikhana reach more people. Become a Supporter for just $10/mo. Poetry Chaikhana HomeNew | Books | Music | Teahouse | About | ContactPoets by: Name| Tradition | Timeline Poetry by: Theme | CommentaryBlog | Forum | Facebook | Twitter www.Poetry-Chaikhana.com Poetry ChaikhanaP.O. Box 2320Boulder, CO 80306 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. ============ Plain Text: If you have any difficulty reading this HTML formatted email, please let me know and I can send you plain text emails instead. Cancelling: If you wish to stop receiving this Daily Poem email from the Poetry Chaikhana, simply reply to this email and change the Subject to "Cancel". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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