Friday Night Poetry Slam

THEME: selected verses of Layman Pang, verse 2

I have been appreciating the verses of Layman Pang that are translated by Ruth Fuller Sasaki, Yoshita Iriya, and Dana Fraser in "A Man of Zen: The Recorded Sayings of Layman Pang", so for the next several weeks, I intend to share a verse from the Layman and respond with a verse of my own.

Share your zen poetry below. The theme is merely a suggestion.

Layman P'ang's Verse

People have a one scroll sutra

Without form and without name.

No man is able to unroll and read it,

And none of us can hear it.

When you are able to unroll and read it,

You enter the principle and accord with the Birthless

Not to speak of becoming a Bodhisattva,

You don't even need to become Buddha.

...

Jungle_Toad's verse

The melody is only heard note after note,

The painting is only seen stroke after stroke,

The entree is only cooked ingredient after ingredient,

The dharma is only realized expedient after expedient,

The battle is only won death after death,

A life is only lived breath after breath.

Birthless, deathless, the wheel turns ad infinitum.

For hosts to meet their guests, first they must invite them.

I welcome you to share a meal and the teachings of our school,

But I cannot eat your food for you. This is the house's only rule.

I look forward to a time sometime when we remember when,

We only read our scroll from the writing tip of a pen.

Submitted June 18, 2022 at 12:25AM by jungle_toad https://ift.tt/ujZkRhf