Monday, July 4, 2016

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







不知香    里入云峰
古木无人    深山何处钟
泉声咽危石    日色冷青松
薄暮空潭曲    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


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