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From the Poetry Chaikhana website

Hsu Yun

The Venerable Master Hsu Yun was born in 1839 or 1840 in the Guanzhou region of China.

When he was 13, Hsu Yun declared that he wanted to join a Buddhist monastery, but his father refused to allow it. He eventually went against his father's wishes and became an ordained monk at age 20, in 1859.

He had a naturally ascetic temperament and often refused even the minimal food of a monk. He later went on a three year solitary retreat into the forest where he sustained himself primarily on wild greens and pure stream water.

Hsu Yun traveled quite a bit in his life, teaching in many parts of China and Southeast Asia. He is credited by many with revitalizing Buddhist practice throughout much of the region, which was showing signs of degeneration and decline in the period leading up to and following the communist revolution.

Although he attained immense respect, Hsu Yun remained supremely humble and simple in his lifestyle. He chose to live the final years of his long life quietly in his monastery's cow shed. (Wikipedia)

Going Beyond Desire

Striving to leave the wilderness
You become part of what's wild.
Striving to cease grasping
Is, itself, grasping.
So how do you gain control and get beyond desire?
Open those eyes... the ones that were born in your own skull.

· Note before reading the following poem: Dharma is often translated to “righteous duty,” or any “virtuous path.” Tang and Sung (Song) dynasties (907-960) created an era of political upheaval in China, beginning in the Tang Dynasty and ending in the Song Dynasty. During this period, five dynasties quickly succeeded one another in the north, and more than 12 independent states were established, mainly in the south.) (Wikipedia)

Searching for the Dharma

You've traveled up ten thousand steps in search of the Dharma.
So many long days in the archives, copying, copying.
The gravity of the Tang and the profundity of the Sung
make heavy baggage.
Here! I've picked you a bunch of wildflowers.
Their meaning is the same
but they're much easier to carry.

Mirror Pond on Mount Taibo in Shanxi

The water and my mind have both settled down
Into perfect stillness.
Sun and moon shine bright in it.
At night I see in the surface
The enormous face of my old familiar moon.
I don't think you've ever met the source of this reflection.
All shrillness fades into the sound of silence.
But now and then a puff of mist floats across the mirror.
It confuses me a little
But not enough to make me forget to forget my cares.

· Note before reading the following poem: Buddhism: Siddhattha Gotama (The Buddha) was a spiritual teacher from ancient India and the founder of Buddhism. He is generally recognized by Buddhists as the Supreme Buddha, or the one who has achieved bodhi, frequently translated as "awakening." Buddhism is a set of teachings to guide one to directly experiencing reality. It is said to be a way of life that attempts to identify the causes of human suffering and offer a path that is claimed to end suffering. (Wikipedia)

Heart of the Buddha

No need to chase back and forth like the waves.
The same water which ebbs is the same water that flows.
No point turning back to get water
When it's flowing around you in all directions
The heart of the Buddha and the people of the world...
Where is there any difference?