This is a poem I came across online that is attributed to Hui Yuan, who is designated as the first patriarch of the Pure Land school of Buddhism. His dates are given as 334-416 AD, which means he predates Bodhidharma's arrival in China by more than two centuries. As such this is the oldest Chinese enlightenment poem I've yet come across in the Mahayana tradition. It's quite remarkable, at least to me, that Chinese monks chose to convey the essence of spiritual awakening through poetry so long before it became customary practice during the Tang Dynasty.
On
a cliff sublime
That
emits the purest qi
In
a cave remote
Dwelling
amidst
Traces
of divinity
I
hear the music of
A
flute that resounds from
The
surrounding peaks
And
fades away beneath
A
solitary guest wandering
From the lower depths
Has
found the right path
To
pursue forgetfulness
Here
I raise my hands and
Caress
the cloudy gate
Alert
yet cloaked in peace
Surpassingly
open
As what flows forth is
A knock unheard before
Upon the mysterious gate
A sense of arrival at what
Is inseparable from
The essence within
Which soars to
The ninth heaven
Without the slightest effort
Buoyant as a feather
How exquisite to be
So much at one
To attain all three realms
In a single transcendent leap
-
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游廬山
慧遠
崇岩吐清氣
幽岫棲神跡
希聲奏群籟
響出山溜滴
有客獨冥游
徑然忘所適
揮手撫雲門
靈關安足闢
流新叩玄扃
感至理弗隔
孰是騰九霄
不奮沖天翮
妙同趣自均
一悟超三益
Mt. Lu is depicted above in the painting by Jing Hao ,which dates back to the Five Dynasties period. Mt. Lu was the site where Hui Yuan built Donglin Temple and to this day it is considered to be sacred ground for Pure Land practitioners. The photo below suggests that the place seems to have retained some distinctive traces of divinity - a suitable spot, among other things, for caressing the cloudy gate, either without or within.
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