On birth, death, the moon, and dreams of spring

From "Poems & Records from Pilgrimages", The Recorded Sayings of Zen Master Joshu (Green)

 

There was a monk who asked, "Birth and death are two roads. Are they the same or different?"

The master had a verse that said:

A man of the Way asks about birth and death,

How can birth and death be discussed?

Water in the pond of the sala forest,

The bright moon illuminates Heaven and Earth.

To speak to him of a consciousness beyond wrrds

Is but playing with ghosts.

If you want to understand birth and death,

It is a crazy man's talk of his dream about spring.

 

wrrdgrrl: In between my dreams of spring, I shovel snow and stoke the home fire. Joshu teases the monk about wanting to understand/discuss birth and death, but presents a verse that does just that!! Such a sly fox.

Submitted January 31, 2019 at 07:15PM by wrrdgrrl http://bit.ly/2ToYDeC