You're Alone

                Photo credits: Dvids

               The verses above seem to be pregnant with a beautiful double meaning. It may be impossible to figure out what Han San really said in the original Chinese. However, this translation done by J.P.Seaton in his book Cold Mountain Poems give the reader much to think and, mainly, to feel.

               What does the “within” refer to in this case? Is the verse saying that everything within Earth is alone? Or is the verse saying one is alone and have all within oneself? Since it is written in poetic language, plus, being a pre-zen Buddhist poem, I would not be surprised if the verse had both meanings at the same time.

               We are all alone. Nobody can live other’s journey. However, we are all together in journeying individually. At the same time, all the individual journeys compose the only one journey that exists, the journey of the whole Universe. And, as parts of the Universe, each one of us, all beings, is the entire Universe.            

               By the way he is the full translation:

Green water in the stream in the pass,

white water rising the clear-welling spring…

Han Shan’s moon’s a flower, white as well…

So the darkest secret, the spirit by itself illumines

gaze into the emptiness, to the ends of Earth…

You’re alone, with all within…

(Poem XXXIII, pg. 49)

Into the Night, singing in Moonlight; into the Dawn, dancing with White Clouds.

The verses above come from the following poem:

Oh wise gentlemen, ignore me!

Like I ignore you fools.

I’m not stupid, I’m not wise,

from now on I’m just gone.

Into the night, singing in moonlight;

into the dawn, dancing with white clouds.

That’s the way to occupy your hands and mouth!

I can’t just sit still while my hair grows!

(Cold Mountain Poems, pg.29 – J.P.Seaton)

This is a very rich poem; many things could be said about it. However, these two verses caught my attention the most. It feels like a beautiful way of saying that it does not matter the situation, there is more than one way of finding joy in life and making it sacred.

The beautiful photo is a black & white interpretation of a photo by Gracey Stinson. She is very talented. Many of her photos you can download for free here.

TRANSCENDENCE IS IMANNENCE

With so much

               war, terror and

                              suffering in the

                              World,

               this is the worst time for

                              Love.

With so much

               war, terror and

                              suffering in the

                              World,

               this is the best time for

                              true Love.

When circumstances

make Love all but

impossible,

only then,

               Love can be magic.

This is transcendence.

It is able to show

its redemption,

its power, and, then,

generate even more Love.

Bcs, then,

it is not taken for granted.

Transcendence for

Love is always possible,

bcs it is its very

nature. Obstacles are helpers,

doors, stepping stones

that lead through a path

that goes inside oneself.

Transcendence

for Love is immanence.

It is the realization

of a strong intimacy,

presence, pleasure

of simply being.

As an armor and

weapon, a root that

makes us one with the

very heart of Existence,

peace, against all

odds.

WE NEED EMPATHY TO CREATE A NEW KIND OF REVOLUTION

WE NEED EMPATHY TO CREATE A NEW KIND OF REVOLUTION - The 20th century was the Age of Introspection, when self-help and therapy culture encouraged us to believe that the best way to understand who we are and how to live was to look inside ourselves. But it left us gazing at our own navels. The 21st century should become the Age of Empathy, when we discover ourselves not simply through self-reflection, but by becoming interested in the lives of others. We need empathy to create a new kind of revolution. Not an old-fashioned revolution built on new laws, institutions, or policies, but a radical revolution in human relationships.

Roman Krznaric, Ph.D., is a founding faculty member of The School of Life in London and "empathy advisor" to organizations including Oxfam and the United Nations. He formerly taught sociology and politics at Cambridge University. He is the author of Empathy: A Handbook for Revolution.

By this Understanding You will awake to the Truth

          What I great moment when two sages who lived so far apart in distance, time and cultural background bring up the same revelation. This week i broke a couple of my own rules to make and post these cards. My initial intention when i started posting this series of quotes was to post only sentences by Zen figures. However, William Blake quote is so phenomenal, that it would not fit just as note in the commentaries of Huang Po’s quote. Therefore, here it is: Huang Po and William Blake sharing the lime light.