Meditation Poem (by JiaoRan)

Written in the 8th century by the poet and Buddhist monk JiaoRan, this poem has a very contemporary ring to it.  Or maybe it's just that the essence of Buddhist practice hasn't changed too much over the 1300 intervening years.  It's all about standing (or sitting) alone under heaven and earth, studying without movement ...

Ten thousand dharmas

Stream forth from no-gate

One after another until

Wisdom grows faint

Disciples weigh the choices

Open to the novitiate

But standing alone under

Heaven and earth

Is the starting place

Practice is about what exists

Things from the outset

That in stillness persist

The key is to study

Without movement and

Behold the light shining forth

On the origin of all

Ten thousand things