Passing the Incense Temple (by Wang Wei)

Passing the Incense Temple    

On a journey of unknowing

Deep into the cloudy peaks

Alone among ancient trees

A distant bell resounds

Down a steep rocky path

The mountain stream tumbles

Through a dim pine glade

In the fading light of day

Before rounding a bend

It settles in a pool of quiet

Where the peace-filled mind   

At last stills the lashing dragon

过香积寺

王维

不知香积寺    数里入云峰
古木无人径    深山何处钟
泉声咽危石    日色冷青松
薄暮空潭曲    安禅制毒龙

*  *  *  *  *

Meditation and poetry have long gone hand in hand.  Each alone presents challenges. Practiced together they open a path for experiencing the world with a heightened appreciation for how the spiritual and aesthetic realms are profoundly intertwined.  Wang Wei and Bai Juyi are perhaps the two most celebrated masters of meditative poetry from the Tang period and they have both been a huge influence in my life, as you can see in some of my recent poems, here and here.