No More Learning

1 The three poisonous snakes are the same as the Three Poisons (see HS 91). The two evil birds are open to interpretation. Xiang Chu sees it as shrikes and owls; though he notes traditions that mention two birds as symbolic of ignorance on the one hand and perception and thought on the other. There is also an Indian parable about a two-headed bird—one head only eats sweet fruit; the other head, jealous, eats poison until they both die.
2 For the signi cance of snapping one’s ngers in Buddhist texts, see HS 34.
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240
寒山詩
HS 228
大海水無邊，
魚龍萬萬千。
遞互相食噉，
4 兀兀癡肉團。 為心不了絕， 妄想起如煙。 性月澄澄朗，
8 廓爾照無邊。 HS 229
自見天台頂，
孤高出眾群。
風搖松竹韻，
4 月現海潮頻。 下望山青際， 談玄有白雲。 野情便山水，
8 本志慕道倫。
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Hanshan’s Poems 241
HS 228
The waters of the great sea are endless— Million upon million of sh and dragons, All of them devouring each other,
4 Dim-witted, foolish lumps of esh.
Because their minds do not know how to cease, Disordered thoughts rise up like smoke.
But if the moon of their natures shines clear and bright,
8 Then all would open up, illumined endlessly.
HS 229
I’ve seen for myself the heights of Tiantai,
Lone and lofty, rising above the other hills.
Winds harmonize as they shake pine and bamboo,
4 Sea tides go in and out when the moon appears. Below, I gaze to the edge of mountain’s green,
And I discuss mysteries with the white clouds.
My taste for the countryside ts with this landscape;
8 And my aspirations admire these companions of the Way. 1
1 Probably referring to the monks of Tiantai.
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242
寒山詩
HS 230
三五癡後生，
作事不真實。
未讀十卷書，
4 強把雌黃筆。 將他儒行篇， 喚作賊盜律。 脫體似蟫蟲，
8 齩破他書帙。 HS 231
心高如山嶽，
人我不伏人。
解講圍陀典，
4 能談三教文。 心中無慚愧， 破戒違律文。 自言上人法，
8 稱為第一人。 愚者皆讚歎， 智者撫掌笑。 陽燄虛空花，
12 豈得免生老。
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Hanshan’s Poems 243
HS 230
There are a few fools, younger than me, Who are not honest in their actions.
Before reading even ten chapters of anything,
4 They go wild with their orpiment brush. 1
They label writings about Confucian conduct As the rules for dealing with bandits and thieves. They elude me just like the silver sh
8 Who gnaw away at the book wraps.
HS 231
His mind is as lofty as the mountains; He’s adamant when arguing with others; He knows how to lecture on Vedic texts,
4 He can discuss the scriptures of the Three Teachings. 2 In his mind, no sense of shame;
He violates precepts, goes against the vinaya.
He himself speaks a “superior man’s Dharma,”3
8 And he’s acclaimed as the best of all.
The foolish all praise him and sigh,
While the wise clap their hands and laugh. He’s but a ickering ame, spots in the eye—4
12 How can he avoid rebirth and growing old?
1 Orpiment (cihuang) was a sulfur compound used to wipe out textual errors (like modern correction uid). This refers to ill-educated people who have the temerity to “correct” writings by others.
2 Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism.
3 “Superior man’s dharma” (shang ren fa) is mentioned in Buddhist texts as the sin of
claiming superior wisdom or knowledge without justi cation.
4 “Spots in the eye” is literally “empty owers” (xu kong hua), and is used for spots or
oaters that occur in one’s vision.
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244
寒山詩
不如百不解，
靜坐絕憂惱。
HS 232
如許多寶貝，
海中乘壞舸。
前頭失却桅，
4 後頭又無柁。 宛轉任風吹， 高低隨浪簸。 如何得到岸，
8 努力莫端坐。 HS 233
我見凡愚人，
多畜資財穀。
飲酒食生命，
4 謂言我富足。 莫知地獄深， 唯求上天福。 罪業如毗富，
8 豈得免灾毒。
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Hanshan’s Poems 245
It would be better to understand nothing, And sit tranquilly, severing all worries.
HS 232
So great a number of treasures
Are carried in a broken-down barge on the sea. It has lost its mast in front,
4 And there is no rudder behind.
It tosses and turns, blown with the wind; It rises and falls, rocked by the waves. How will it ever reach the shore?
8 Strive diligently—don’t just sit! 1
HS 233
I see the ordinary fools:
They store away so much wealth and grain. They drink wine, eat living beings,
4 And think that they are rich enough.
None of them know the depths of Hell;
They only seek the blessings of the highest heaven. 2 Yet their sinful karma is like Mount Vipula;3
8 How can they avoid this disastrous peril?
1 The poem may be taken as an allegory of the individual human (barge), endowed with the Buddha nature (treasures), attempting to reach enlightenment (the shore). The poem urges striving and activity, and not merely quiet sitting in meditation.
2 That is, they imagine their own virtue will allow them to be reborn in the highest of the Buddhist heavens.
3 Name given to a number of mountains in India noted for their size.
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246
寒山詩
財主忽然死，
爭共當頭哭。
供僧讀文䟽，
12 空是鬼神祿。 福田一箇無， 虛設一群禿。 不如早覺悟，
16 莫作黑暗獄。 狂風不動樹， 心真無罪福。 寄語兀兀人，
20 叮嚀再三讀。 HS 234
勸你三界子，
莫作勿道理。
理短被他欺，
4 理長不柰你。 世間濁濫人， 恰似鼠粘子。 不見無事人，
8 獨脫無能比。
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Hanshan’s Poems 247
If a man of wealth suddenly dies,
All vie at once in gathering to mourn him. They feast the monks who conduct the service;
12 But the service is merely a gift to ghosts. Nothing accrues to his Field of Blessings;1 It’s useless to assemble this ock of baldies. It’s better to awaken from the start—
16 Don’t do things that lead to the Hell of ignorance. Be a tree unmoved by gusts of wind,
With a true mind beyond sin or merit.
I send word to all you dim-witted ones:
20 Read this carefully, over and over!
HS 234
I urge you, dwellers in the Three Realms: Don’t behave irrationally!
If you’re short in reason, then you’ll be abused;
4 If you’re long in it, they won’t put up with you. All the vulgar, polluted people of the world Are exactly like rats with burrs in their fur. 2 Don’t you see the man without a airs,3
8 Who stands alone, with no one who can rival him?
1 A Field of Blessings ( fu tian) is the positive karma an individual accrues through charitable actions, especially gifts to monks. The point here is that the services may allow the deceased to gain some karmic bene t; but he has already lost the opportunity to make any signi cant gains in his karma while alive.
2 I. e. , they cannot free themselves from passion and anger.
3 That is, a being who no longer produces karmically signi cant actions.
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248
寒山詩
早須返本源，
三界任緣起。
清淨入如流，
12 莫飲無明水。 HS 235
三界人蠢蠢，
六道人茫茫。
貪財愛婬欲，
4 心惡若豺狼。 地獄如箭射， 極苦若為當。 兀兀過朝夕，
8 都不別賢良。 好惡總不識， 猶如豬及羊。 共語如木石，
12 嫉妒似顛狂。 不自見己過， 如豬在圈臥。 不知自償債，
16 却笑牛牽磨。
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Hanshan’s Poems 249
Return to the original source right away;
In the Three Realms, you’re subject to dependent origination. 1 Enter the pure and clear stream of Thusness;
12 Do not drink the water of ignorance.
HS 235
People in the Three Realms writhe and wriggle; People on the Six Courses are vast in their throngs. 2 Greedy for wealth, lustful in their desires,
4 Their minds wicked like wild dogs and wolves. Thrown into hell like a speeding arrow— How to withstand such extreme su ering? Muddle-headed they pass each day,
8 Unable to distinguish what is worthy.
They can’t recognize the good and the wicked, They’re as stupid as pigs or sheep.
Talking to them is like speaking to wood or stone;
12 And they’re demented in their jealousies. They cannot observe their own faults, Like pigs reclining in their sty;
They don’t understand the debts they owe,
16 And laugh instead at the ox dragging a millstone. 3
1 “Dependent origination” (pratītya-samutpāda; yuanqi): the twelve-stage chain of causality that leads from ignorance to samsaric rebirth.
2 For Six Courses, see HS 72 and note.
3 For the signi cance of this image, see HS 159a and note.
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250
寒山詩
HS 236
人生在塵蒙，
恰似盆中蟲。
終日行遶遶，
4 不離其盆中。 神仙不可得， 煩惱計無窮。 歲月如流水，
8 須臾作老翁。 HS 237
寒山出此語，
復似顛狂漢。
有事對面說，
4 所以足人怨。 心真出語直， 直心無背面。 臨死度柰河，
8 誰是嘍囉漢。 冥冥泉臺路， 被業相拘絆。
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Hanshan’s Poems 251
HS 236
Human life in this dust-covered world Is just like a bug in a bowl.
All day it travels round and round,
4 But it never gets out of the bowl. Transcendence cannot be attained;
Kleśa strategems are endless.
The months and years ow on like water,
8 And suddenly you’re an old man.
HS 237
I, Hanshan utter these words
As if I were some madman.
When I have something, I say it face-to-face,
4 So it’s enough to cause resentment.
But since my mind is true, my words are direct,
And my direct mind has no front or back:
When you’ve died and you’re crossing the Hopeless River,1
8 Then who is the clever talker?
Gloomy the road to the Underworld; You’re bound by your karmic misdeeds.
1 For the Hopeless River, see HS 74.
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252
寒山詩
HS 238
我見多知漢，
終日用心神。
歧路逞嘍囉，
4 欺謾一切人。 唯作地獄滓， 不修正直因。 忽然無常至，
8 定知亂紛紛。 HS 239
寄語諸仁者，
復以何為懷。
達道見自性，
4 自性即如來。 天真元具足， 修證轉差迴。 棄本却逐末，
8 只守一場獃。
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Hanshan’s Poems 253
HS 238
I’ve seen those know-it-alls
Who employ mind and spirit all day long, Showing o their clever words at the crossroads,
4 Cheating everyone they meet.
They only become the dregs of Hell, Don’t cultivate upright karma.
When Impermanence comes upon them,
8 Certainly things will be thrown into chaos.
HS 239
I send word to all you benevolent types, What are you all concerned about? Penetrate the Way, see your Self-Nature,
4 The Self-Nature that is the Tathāgata.
Your natural purity is already complete;
Cultivation and realization would force you further awry. If you abandon the root to pursue the branches,
8 Really, that’s completely stupid!
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254
寒山詩
HS 240
世有一般人，
不惡又不善。
不識主人公，
4 隨客處處轉。 因循過時光， 渾是癡肉臠。 雖有一靈臺，
8 如同客作漢。 HS 241
常聞釋迦佛，
先受然燈記。
然燈與釋迦，
4 只論前後智。 前後體非殊， 異中無有異。 一佛一切佛，
8 心是如來地。
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Hanshan’s Poems 255
HS 240
There’s a certain kind of person in the world, Not evil, but not good either.
He doesn’t recognize who his true landlord is,
4 But follows the tenants at every turn.
He casually wastes his time,
Completely a stupid lump of meat.
Even though he has a spirit dwelling within,
8 He works as if he were a tenant. 1
HS 241
I’ve often heard that Śakyamuni
At rst received Dīpam. kara’s recognition. 2 Dīpam. kara and Śakyamuni:
4 You can only discuss who was wise rst, and who second. But “ rst” and “second” are not di erent in essence:
In their di erence there is no di erence.
One Buddha, or all the Buddhas:
8 Their mind is the ground for the Tathāgata.
1 There may be a pun here—he possesses a spirit (literally, “spirit terrace”), so he is actually a proprietor/landlord, and not merely a tenant farmer.
2 Shou ji (Skt: vyākarn. a) is a Buddha’s prediction to one of disciples that he too will become a Buddha in a later life. Dīpam. kara predicted to one of his own disciples that he would become our historical Buddha (Śākyamuni).
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256
寒山詩
HS 242
常聞國大臣，
朱紫簪纓祿。
富貴百千般，
4 貪榮不知辱。 奴馬滿宅舍， 金銀盈帑屋。 癡福暫時扶，
8 埋頭作地獄。 忽死萬事休， 男女當頭哭。 不知有禍殃，
12 前路何疾速。 家破冷颼颼， 食無一粒粟。 凍餓苦悽悽，
16 良由不覺觸。 HS 243
上人心猛利，
一聞便知妙。
中流心清淨，
4 審思云甚要。
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Hanshan’s Poems 257
HS 242
I’ve often heard of great ministers of state,
In crimson and purple, with hatpins and hat strings bestowed. 1 They are wealthy and noble in a million di erent ways,
4 Yet they are shameless in their greed for glory. Slaves and horses ll their residence,
Gold and silver pile up in their warehouse.
But temporary is the good karma inherited by fools;
8 And they’re blindly set on committing Hell-bound deeds. When they die, all their business is at an end;
Their sons and daughters arrive to mourn.
They’re unaware of the calamity they’ll have;
12 How swiftly their future passes! Bankrupt, freezing in the wind,
With not a single grain to eat.
Frozen and starving, they bitterly lament:
16 All because no one woke up. 2
HS 243
The most superior have minds acute and erce;
Once they hear something marvelous, they know it at once. The middling types have minds clear and pure;
4 After they ponder it, they say, “Quite essential! ”
1 In the Tang bureaucracy, o cial status was often marked by the color of hatpins and hat strings.
2 The second half of this poem is unclear. I read it as the bad karma of the wealthy ministers inevitably a ecting the status of their o spring after they die. In this case, the last half of the poem describes the su ering of their o spring, all because they (the deceased ministers) did not wake up to the evils of their behavior in time.
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258
寒山詩
下士鈍暗癡，
頑皮最難裂。
直得血淋頭，
8 始知自摧滅。 看取開眼賊， 鬧市集人決。 死屍棄如塵，
12 此時向誰說。 男兒大丈夫， 一刀兩段截。 人面禽獸心，
16 造作何時歇。 HS 244
我有六兄弟，
就中一箇惡。
打伊又不得，
4 罵伊又不著。 處處無柰何， 耽財好淫殺。 見好埋頭愛，
8 貪心過羅剎。
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Hanshan’s Poems 259
The lowest of all are blunt and benighted; It’s hardest to crack their stupid hides. Only when their heads are soaked in blood
8 Do they know they’re doomed to destruction.
Just see the unrepentant robber—1
In the bustling market people come to see him die. His corpse is thrown away like dirt—
12 To whom can you speak at such a time? “Stalwart fellows,” “great men”:
With one chop they are cloven in twain. Human faces, but with a bestial mind—
16 When will they cease their wicked deeds?
HS 244
I have six brothers,
And one among them was wicked. We beat him—it did no good;
4 We berated him—it didn’t take.
Hopeless in every possible way,
Greedy for wealth, fond of wild slaughter;
When he saw what he liked, he blindly wanted it,
8 A covetous mind worse than any demon.
1 Literally, “robber with open eyes”—i. e. , quite aware that what he does is wrong.
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260
寒山詩
阿爺惡見伊，
阿孃嫌不悅。
昨被我捉得，
12 惡罵恣情掣。 趂向無人處， 一一向伊說。 汝今須改行，
16 覆車須改轍。 若也不信受， 共汝惡合殺。 汝受我調伏，
20 我共汝覓活。 從此盡和同， 如今過菩薩。 學業攻鑪冶，
24 鍊盡三山鐵。 至今靜恬恬， 眾人皆讚說。
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Hanshan’s Poems 261
Our dad was disgusted at the sight of him, Our mom, displeased, took a dislike to him. So yesterday I caught hold of him,
12 And cursed him and dragged him o in my fury.
I drove him o to a private spot,
And told him o item by item.
“You have to change the way you’ve been acting—
16 Just as you take a di erent way when your cart is upset. 1 If you don’t believe what I’m saying,
I’m afraid your wickedness will bring your demise. 2
But if you submit to my instruction,
20 I’ll help you nd a livelihood. ”
From then on he was completely amenable, And now surpasses a bodhisattva!
He’s studying a trade, learning how to smelt,
24 And he’s already re ned three mountains-worth of iron. Now he’s peaceable and quite content,
And everyone sings his praises. 3
1 That is, you realize the road is poor and you must take another way if you hope to continue traveling. SD 19 uses the same image more lucidly.
2 I read 共 (“together”) as an error for 恐 (“fear”), in keeping with the similar line in SD 19.
3 The six brothers are likely the six forms of consciousness (Skt: vijñāna: eye, ear, mouth, nose, body, mind), and the evil brother is probably the mind—the one that can cause the most trouble.
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262
寒山詩
HS 245
昔日極貧苦，
夜夜數他寶。
今日審思量，
4 自家須營造。 掘得一寶藏， 純是水精珠。 大有碧眼胡，
8 密擬買將去。 余即報渠言， 此珠無價數。
HS 246
一生慵懶作，
憎重只便輕。
他家學事業，
4 余持一卷經。 無心裝褾軸， 來去省人擎。 應病則說藥，
8 方便度眾生。 但自心無事， 何處不惺惺。
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Hanshan’s Poems
263
HS 245
In past days I was extremely poor;
Every night I’d tally up the treasure of others. Today I’ve pondered deeply:
4 I must take up business for myself.
I’ve dug up a treasure of one jewel,
One pure crystal gem.
But there are many blue-eyed foreigners
8 Who secretly plan to buy it from me. So I reply to all of them:
This gem has no price.
HS 246
All my life I’ve been too lazy to act;
I’ve hated heavy things, preferred only the light. Others may learn their occupations;
4 I have only a sutra in one chapter.
I have no intentions of mounting it on a scroll: That spares me having to carry it around. Responding to each sickness, I prescribe medicine:
8 Skillful Means that save all sentient beings. Just as long as your mind is free of a airs, It will be brilliant about everything.
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264
寒山詩
HS 247
我見出家人，
不入出家學。
欲知真出家，
4 心淨無繩索。 澄澄孤玄妙， 如如無倚托。 三界任縱橫，
8 四生不可泊。 無為無事人， 逍遙實快樂。
HS 248
昨到雲霞觀，
忽見仙尊士。
星冠月帔橫，
4 盡云居山水。 余問神仙術， 云道若為比。 謂言靈無上，
8 妙藥必神秘。 守死待鶴來， 皆道乘魚去。
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Hanshan’s Poems 265
HS 247
I’ve seen people who have “left the household”:1 They don’t engage in the proper study of it.
If you want to know the real “leaving the household”,
4 The mind is pure so that it has no restraints.
Pellucid, solitary, dark and mysterious,
It is as it is, relying on nothing.
It can roam here and there through the Three Realms,
8 And cannot be anchored to the Four Forms of Birth. 2 The actionless one without a airs
Is truly delighted by such free wandering!
HS 248
Yesterday I went to the Abbey of Rosy Clouds,3
When I suddenly met Transcendent gentlemen,
With caps of stars, and moon-white capes across their shoulders;
4 They said they all lived amid mountains and waters. I asked them the art of Transcendence;
They said, “What could compare to this Way! ” They claimed nothing could be more magical,
8 Though their marvelous herbs must be a kept a holy secret. They watch over their deaths, awaiting the coming of the crane, All saying they will depart by sh. 4
1 I. e. , become monks (chu jia).
2 Birth by egg, by womb, by dampness, and by transformation—inevitable ways of
continuing samsaric existence.
3 A Daoist abbey or monastery ( guan) is meant here.
4 Daoist lore often describes practitioners achieving Transcendence riding away on
cranes or on sh.
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266
寒山詩
余乃返窮之， 12 推尋勿道理。 但看箭射空， 須臾還墜地。 饒你得仙人， 16 恰似守屍鬼。 心月自精明， 萬象何能比。 欲知仙丹術， 20 身內元神是。 莫學黃巾公， 握愚自守擬。
HS 249
余家有一宅，
其宅無正主。
地生一寸草，
4 水垂一滴露。 火燒六箇賊， 風吹黑雲雨。 子細尋本人，
8 布裹真珠爾。
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Hanshan’s Poems 267
But I re ect on this and get to the bottom— 12 I reckon that all this is senseless.
Just look at an arrow shot into the sky:
In a moment it falls back to the earth. Granted that you become a Transcendent;
16 But that’s just a ghost living in his own corpse! The Moon of the Mind is essentially bright, The myriad phenomena can’t compare.
If you want to know the Cinnabar Art,
20 There’s an original spirit inside your form. 1 Don’t imitate those “Yellow Turban” lords,2 Preserving their folly as you keep to their model.
HS 249
There is a dwelling at my home,
A dwelling that has no proper master. The earth part grows one inch of grass,
4 The water part lets drip one drop of dew,
The re part consumes the Six Thieves,3
And the wind part blows away the black storm clouds. If you carefully search for the “original person,”
8 It’s merely a gem wrapped in hempen cloth. 4
1 These four lines contrast the Daoist search of immortality (including the re nement of cinnabar as an elixir) with the Buddhist doctrine of the “Buddha Nature” that is naturally found within oneself.
2 A reference to the popular Daoist movement known pejoratively as the “Yellow Turbans,” led by a proto-Daoist magician and leader Zhang Jue 張角 at the end of the second century CE.
3 The six senses: eye, ear, mouth, nose, body, and mind.
4 This poem is an allegory of the body, which is composed of four elements: earth,
water, re, and wind. While usually these elements are perceived as impermanent stu , here the practitioner uses them to attain knowledge of the Buddha nature within (the gem wrapped in the hempen cloth of the worthless body).
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268
寒山詩
HS 250
傳語諸公子，
聽說石齊奴。
僮僕八百人，
4 水碓三十區。 舍下養魚鳥， 樓上吹笙竽。 伸頭臨白刃，
8 癡心為綠珠。 HS 251
何以長惆悵，
人生似朝菌。
那堪數十年，
4 親舊凋落盡。 以此思自哀， 哀情不可忍。 柰何當柰何，
8 託體歸山隱。
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Hanshan’s Poems 269
HS 250
Let me tell you a story, gentlemen: Have you heard about Shi Qinu? He had eight hundred serving lads,
4 And thirty water mills.
Below his lodge he raised sh and birds,
And in his mansion he had reed-organs played.
Yet he stretched out his neck to the gleaming blade:
8 His foolish heart given over to Green Pearl. 1
HS 251
Why am I always so downhearted? Human life is like a mushroom at dawn. How can I bear, that in a few dozen years,
4 My kin and acquaintance will all wither away? Because of this, my thoughts turn to grief, And these grieving feelings I cannot bear.
Oh what shall I do? What shall I do?
8 I shall give myself over to mountain reclusion. 2
1 Shi Chong 石崇 (249–300; polite name Qinu) was a wealthy aristocrat. He was executed by the warlord Sun Xiu on trumped-up charges because Sun wanted Shi Chong’s beautiful concubine Green Pearl. Green Pearl killed herself rather than leave Shi.
2 Or, “We shall shed our forms and return to the shade of the hills [in death]. ” The Hanshan poems use 歸 (“to return”) both in the sense of entering the grave and eeing to the hills. The fact that he often uses 隱 to mean “reclusion” may make my main translation more likely.
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270
寒山詩
HS 252
繿縷關前業，
莫訶今日身。
若言由冢墓，
4 箇是極癡人。 到頭君作鬼， 豈令男女貧。 皎然易解事，
8 作麼無精神。 HS 253
我見黃河水，
凡經幾度清。
水流如急箭，
4 人世若浮萍。 癡屬根本業， 無明煩惱阬。 輪迴幾許劫，
8 只為造迷盲。
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Hanshan’s Poems 271
HS 252
Your tattered clothes come from your karma; Don’t curse the body that you have now.
If you say they result from the site of your graves,1
4 Then you’re really a complete idiot.
In the end, when you become a ghost,
Why would you make your children poor? This is quite clear and easy to understand—
8 Why are you so unperceptive?
HS 253
I see the waters of the Yellow River: How many times have they owed clear?
Waters rush like a speeding arrow,
4 While the human world is like oating duckweed. Fools are dependent on their original karma, Ignorance is the snare of the kleśas.
The wheel of rebirth turns for countless kalpas,
8 While they continue to act out their blindness.
1 I. e. , that your wealth or poverty is dependent on the geomantic position of your family’s burial mounds.
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272
寒山詩
HS 254
二儀既開闢，
人乃居其中。
迷汝即吐霧，
4 醒汝即吹風。 惜汝即富貴， 奪汝即貧窮。 碌碌群漢子，
8 萬事由天公。 HS 255
余勸諸稚子，
急離火宅中。
三車在門外，
4 載你免飄蓬。 露地四衢坐， 當天萬事空。 十方無上下，
8 來去任西東。 若得箇中意， 縱橫處處通。
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Hanshan’s Poems 273
HS 254
Ever since the Two Principles opened up,1 Humans have dwelt in their midst.
If they wish to confuse you, they’ll emit fog;
4 If they wish to awaken you, they’ll let blow the wind;
If they care for you, then you’ll be wealthy and honored; If they wish to despoil you, you’ll be impoverished.
All you men who toil away!
8 All a airs come from the Lord of Heaven. 2
HS 255
I urge all of you, children:
Depart at once from the burning house! Three carts are outside the gate;
4 They’ll keep you from becoming aimless drifters. In open ground, you’ll sit at the crossroads,
And face the sky, where all things are Empty.
In all directions, no up or down;
8 You’ll come and go, moving west, then east.
If you get the Central Idea of this,
Then you can reach everywhere in all directions! 3
1 Heaven and Earth, or yang and yin.
2 This poem emphasizes that human action is useless when it opposes one’s fate. For
a poem with a similar message, see HS 224.
3 This poem refers to the Burning House parable in the Lotus Sutra. Compare with
HS 190.
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274
寒山詩
HS 256
可歎浮生人，
悠悠何日了。
朝朝無閑時，
4 年年不覺老。 總為求衣食， 令心生煩惱。 擾擾百千年，
8 去來三惡道。 HS 257
時人尋雲路，
雲路杳無蹤。
山高多險峻，
4 澗闊少玲瓏。 碧嶂前兼後， 白雲西復東。 欲知雲路處，
8 雲路在虛空。
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Hanshan’s Poems
275
HS 256
Alas! Those in the oating world— Into eternity, never ceasing.
Day upon day, no time of rest,
4 Year after year, not sensing their age. All in search of clothing and food Which raises kleśas in the mind. Caught in turmoil for countless years,
8 Still pacing the Three Evil Paths.
HS 257
People of this age seek a road through the clouds— But this road is dim and leaves no trace.
The heights of the hill are mostly steep and narrow,
4 While the ravine is broad with little sunlight. Emerald cli s join front to back,
And white clouds drift west and east.
If you wish to know where the cloud-road is:
8 The cloud-road rests in the empty void.
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276
寒山詩
HS 258
寒山棲隱處，
絕得雜人過。
時逢林內鳥，
4 相共唱山歌。 瑞草聯谿谷， 老松枕嵯峨。 可觀無事客，
8 憩歇在巖阿。 HS 259
五嶽俱成粉，
須彌一寸山。
大海一滴水，
4 吸入在心田。 生長菩提子， 徧蓋天中天。 語汝慕道者，
8 慎莫繞十纏。
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Hanshan’s Poems 277
HS 258
I roost in seclusion on Cold Mountain, Cut o from the calls of distracting men. At times I encounter birds in the wood,
4 And together we sing a mountain song. Auspicious grass stretches through valley and vale; Old pines lean on looming crags.
There you can see a lodger without a airs,
8 Taking his ease on the top of a cli .
HS 259
The Five Sacred Peaks are reduced to powder, And Mount Sumeru shrinks to an inch. 1
The great seas are just one drop of water
4 That is sucked into the eld of the mind.
There the seed of the Bodhi tree grows and prospers, Until it becomes a canopy for the God of the Gods. 2 I tell those of you who aspire to the Way:
8 Do not let the Ten Entanglements coil about you. 3
1 The Five Sacred Peaks are ve geographically and mythologically signi cant mountains in the Chinese tradition: Taishan, Hengshan, Huashan, Hengshan, and Songshan. For Mount Sumeru, see HS 119.
2 “The God of the Gods” (天中天) is a term for the Buddha; just as humans honor and respect the gods, so the gods respect the Buddha and take him for their own divinity. Here the Bodhi tree under which the Buddha found enlightenment is also the seeds of enlightenment brought to realization within the human mind.
3 “Entanglements” (纏) is another term for kleśas. They are variously de ned, but lists include such items as anger, shamelessness, sleepiness, and stinginess.
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278
寒山詩
HS 260
無衣自訪覓，
莫共狐謀裘。
無食自采取，
4 莫共羊謀羞。 借皮兼借肉， 懷歎復懷愁。 皆緣義失所，
8 衣食常不周。 HS 261
自羨山間樂，
逍遙無倚托。
逐日養殘軀，
4 閑思無所作。 時披古佛書， 往往登石閣。 下窺千尺崖，
8 上有雲盤泊。 寒月冷颼颼， 身似孤飛鶴。
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Hanshan’s Poems
279
HS 260
If you have no clothes, go look for them yourself; Don’t plot to get your robe from the fox.
If you don’t have food, go and pick it yourself;
4 Don’t plot to take your treats from the lamb. If they lend their hides, if they lend their esh, They’ll harbor sighs and harbor grief.
All because justice is misapplied,
8 We are always lacking in clothing and food.
HS 261
I long for the delight of the mountains, Where I ramble about, depending on nothing. Day after day I nourish my waning body,
4 Lost in idle thoughts, nothing to do. Occasionally I leaf through old Buddhist books, And often climb up the stone walkways.
There I look down from a thousand-foot blu ,
8 While clouds linger over my head.
The winter moon is chilly and windblown, And my body is like a lone ying crane.
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280
寒山詩
HS 262
我見轉輪王，
千子常圍繞。
十善化四天，
4 莊嚴多七寶。 七寶鎮隨身， 莊嚴甚妙好。 一朝福報盡，
8 猶若棲蘆鳥。 還作牛領蟲， 六趣受業道。 況復諸凡夫，
12 無常豈長保。 生死如旋火， 輪迴似麻稻。 不解早覺悟，
16 為人枉虛老。
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Hanshan’s Poems 281
HS 262
I see the Wheel-Turning Kings,1
Always surrounded by their thousand sons.
With the Ten Virtues they transform all Four Continents;
4 Adorned they are with many of the Seven Jewels. 2 The Seven Jewels accompany them everywhere, And their adornments are marvelous and ne.
Yet one day their good rewards run out;3
8 They are like birds that roost on a reed.
They’ll incarnate as bugs on the neck of an ox; On the Six Courses they accept their karmic path. This is even truer for ordinary types;
12 What can be preserved long amid Impermanence? Life and death are like spinning ames;4
The turning of the wheel like elds of hemp or rice. If you don’t know that you should awaken at once,
16 You’ll waste growing old as a human. 5
1 Wheel-Turning King: cakravartin, a virtuous king who “turns the Wheel of the Dharma” (spreads Buddhism) in the land he rules.
2 The Ten Virtues consist of resisting the Ten Sins: killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, rash talk, hypocritical speech, slander, attery, greed, anger, and heterodox views. The Four Continents (here described by the poetic phrase “four heavens”) are the four continents that make up the habitable world in each Buddhist cosmos. There are various lists for the Seven Jewels (used in Buddhist writing to describe precious things in general).
3 I. e. , accumulated good karma from past good deeds (which allowed them to incarnate as Wheel-Turning Kings).
4 “Spinning ame” here is short for “wheel of spinning ame” (旋火輪), an image used in a number of sutras to describe the illusory solidity of human life. When a torch is spun around oneself at night, it creates the illusion of a tangible wheel. The poet may intend an ironic comparison with the Dharma propagated by the Wheel- Turning King (as well as his mention of the karmic wheel of reincarnation at the beginning of the following line).
5 If one is fortunate enough to be born as a human (let alone a Wheel-Turning King), one should strive to attain enlightenment—otherwise, the opportunity is wasted and one may very well fall below humans in the next incarnation.
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282
寒山詩
HS 263
平野水寬闊，
丹丘連四明。
仙都最高秀，
4 群峰聳翠屏。 遠遠望何極， 矹矹勢相迎。 獨標海隅外，
8 處處播嘉名。 HS 264
可貴一名山，
七寶何能比。
松月颼颼冷，
4 雲霞片片起。 匼匝幾重山， 迴還多少里。 谿澗靜澄澄，
8 快活無窮已。
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Hanshan’s Poems 283
HS 263
The water stretches far and wide to the plain; There, Cinnabar Hill rises up to the Four Lights. Transcendent’s Capital is most lofty here,
4 And the assembled peaks thrust up their emerald screens. 1 So distant, no end to the vista;
So looming, their forms greet us.
Solitary monuments beyond this remote sea corner,
8 They broadcast their splendid fame everywhere.
HS 264
Worth treasuring, this famous mountain; How could a Seven-Jeweled Pagoda compare? 2 The pine-tree moon is chill and windblown;
4 The roseate clouds rise, shred by shred. The many layers of hills, clustered together, Twist and turn for countless miles.
The valley creeks here are calm and clear;
8 And my delight never comes to an end.
1 These are all names for hills and mountains in the Tiantai range. For Cinnabar Hill, see also HS 195.
2 For the seven jewels, see HS 262.
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284
寒山詩
HS 265
我見世間人，
生而還復死。
昨朝猶二八，
4 壯氣胸襟士。 如今七十過， 力困形憔悴。 恰似春日花，
8 朝開夜落爾。 HS 266
迥聳霄漢外，
雲裏路岧嶢。
瀑布千丈流，
4 如鋪練一條。 下有棲心窟， 橫安定命橋。 雄雄鎮世界，
8 天台名獨超。
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Hanshan’s Poems 285
HS 265
I see the people of this world;
They live, then return again to death. Yesterday morn they were still sixteen,
4 Hale and hearty, men of ambition.
And now they’re over seventy,
Their strength thwarted and their bodies withered. They’re just like blossoms on a spring day:
8 At dawn they bloom, and by night they fall.
HS 266
It thrusts skyward, beyond Heaven’s River; There in the clouds, the road rises steep. Waterfalls plunge down a thousand fathoms,
4 Like a stretch of white silk unrolled.
Down there is the Cave of Mind’s Rest;
And stretching across is the Bridge of Fate Ordained. 1 Boldly it bestrides all the world:
8 Tiantai: the name stands alone above all.
1 This is the same stone formation called “Stone Bridge” in HS 44 and HS 218.
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286
寒山詩
HS 267
盤陀石上坐，
谿澗冷淒淒。
靜翫偏嘉麗，
4 虛巖蒙霧迷。 怡然憩歇處， 日斜樹影低。 我自觀心地，
8 蓮花出淤泥。 HS 268
隱士遁人間，
多向山中眠。
青蘿踈麓麓，
4 碧澗響聯聯。 騰騰且安樂， 悠悠自清閑。 免有染世事，
8 心靜如白蓮。
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Hanshan’s Poems
287
HS 267
I sit on a broad slab of rock,
Where the valley creek ows cold and brisk.
I calmly take pleasure, only favoring beauty here,
4 Lost in the shrouding mists on this empty cli . I joyfully take my rest in this place,
Until the sun sets, casting tree shadows low. Then I observe the ground of my Mind:
8 A lotus bloom emerging from the muck.
HS 268
When recluses hide from the human world, Most will sleep in the midst of the hills, Where green vines grow sparse and distinct,
4 And the deep-blue stream murmurs without end. In their enthusiasm they take pleasure for a time: With minds drifting, they grow clear and at ease. Escaping the worldly a airs that stain,
8 Their minds are as calm as a white lotus.
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288
寒山詩
HS 269
寄語食肉漢，
食時無逗遛。
今生過去種，
4 未來今日修。 只取今日美， 不畏來生憂。 老鼠入飯瓮，
8 雖飽難出頭。 HS 270
自從出家後，
漸得養生趣。
伸縮四肢全，
4 勤聽六根具。 褐衣隨春冬， 糲食供朝暮。 今日懇懇修，
8 願與佛相遇。
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Hanshan’s Poems 289
HS 269
I send word to you esh-eating men, Who will not cease your eating: This life had its seeds in your past;
4 And your futures are cultivated today. But you only take delight in today,
Not fearing the troubles of your next life. When a rat enters the rice jar,
8 He may eat his ll, but he can’t get out!
HS 270
Ever since I’ve “left the household,”
I’ve developed an interest in nourishing life. Through yoga I preserve my four limbs;1
4 Through careful e ort I perfect my six senses. I keep a rough robe from spring to winter; Coarse rice serves me from dawn to dusk. Today, since I’ve earnestly practiced,
8 I’m willing to meet with the Buddhas.
1 “Yoga” translates 伸縮 (“stretching and shrinking”), a term that occurs in early texts to describe di erent forms of exercise (especially breath control).
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290
寒山詩
HS 271
五言五百篇，
七字七十九。
三字二十一，
4 都來六百首。 一例書巖石， 自誇云好手。 若能會我詩，
8 真是如來母。 HS 272
世事繞悠悠，
貪生早晚休。
研盡大地石，
4 何時得歇頭。 四時周變易， 八節急如流。 為報火宅主，
8 露地騎白牛。
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Hanshan’s Poems 291
HS 271
Pentasyllabic pieces, ve hundred; Heptasyllabics, seventy-nine; Trisyllabics, twenty-one:
4 All together, six hundred poems. All of them written on cli rocks: I boast I’ve got a good hand!
And if you can understand them,
8 That’s the basis for becoming a Tathāgata. 1
HS 272
The a airs of the world entwine us forever; When will this greed for life ever end? Grind away at an enormous rock:
4 When will such labors cease?
The four seasons circle about in their change;
The eight nodes pass swift as owing water. 2 That’s why I tell the masters of the burning house:
8 Go ride your white ox in the open air!
1 Though many scholars have cited this poem as evidence that the HS collection was once twice its current size, it would be rash to base such an assumption on this poem alone, considering the likelihood of multiple authorship. Also, the arrangement of numbers here to t the rhyme and rhythm of the poem seems a bit too pat to re ect reality.
2 Another way of indicating the cycle of the year; the eight nodes are the two solstices, the two equinoxes, and the rst day of each of the four seasons.
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292
寒山詩
HS 273
可笑五陰窟，
四蛇同共居。
黑暗無明燭，
4 三毒遞相驅。 伴黨六箇賊， 劫掠法財珠。 斬却魔軍輩，
8 安泰湛如蘇。 HS 274
常聞漢武帝，
爰及秦始皇。
俱好神仙術，
4 延年竟不長。 金臺既摧折， 沙丘遂滅亡。 茂陵與驪嶽，
8 今日草茫茫。
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Hanshan’s Poems 293
HS 273
What a laugh, this cave of the Five Skandhas, Where the Four Snakes live together! 1
All is blackness there, without a lit candle;
4 The Three Poisons chase each other in and out. 2 They band together with the Six Thieves,3
To plunder and loot the Dharma’s treasure jewels. But if you behead this demon army,
8 It will bring peace, as calming as clotted cream. 4
HS 274
I’ve often heard of Emperor Wu of the Han, As well as the rst Qin emperor.
Both of them were fond of Transcendent arts,
4 Yet in the end their lives were not prolonged. 5 Now the gold terraces are shattered and broken, And Sandhill has vanished away. 6
At Maoling and at Li Peak7
8 Today the weeds grow thick.
1 For skandhas, see HS 202. The “cave” here is the Self. The Four Snakes are the four physical elements that compose the body: earth, water, re, and wind (see also HS 249).
2 The Three Poisons are: desire, anger, and ignorance. See also HS 91 and HS 226.
3 The six senses. See also HS 244 and HS 249.
4 蘇 here is used for 酥; clotted cream is mentioned in the sutras as a metaphor for
the soothing teaching of the Dharma.
5 Both rulers were infamous in their desire to nd the secret of immortality.
6 Gold terraces: a general reference to structures built by Han Wudi meant to be
used in communication with Transcendents. Sandhill was the site of the rst Qin
emperor’s death.
7 The sites of the tombs of Emperor Wu and the rst Qin emperor respectively.
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294
寒山詩
HS 275
憶得二十年，
徐步國清歸。
國清寺中人，
4 盡道寒山癡。 癡人何用疑， 疑不解尋思。 我尚自不識，
8 是伊爭得知。 低頭不用問， 問得復何為。 有人來罵我，
12 分明了了知。 雖然不應對， 却是得便宜。
HS 276
語你出家輩，
何名為出家。
奢華求養活，
4 繼綴族姓家。 美舌甜脣觜， 諂曲心鉤加。
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Hanshan’s Poems 295
HS 275
I remember twenty years ago,
When I took my leisured way back to Guoqing Temple. The men at Guoqing Temple
4 All said that I, Hanshan, was a fool.
But what use is there to suspect a fool?
They suspect he won’t understand how to think. But if I myself don’t understand,
8 Then how would they be able to know?
I kept my head low—useless to ask questions; For why would I want to ask questions?
Then people came to scold me,
12 And I clearly understood at once.
And though I didn’t reply to them,
I did nd something to my advantage.
HS 276
I ask you now, who have “left the home”: What does it mean to leave the home? You seek to feed your wealthy lives
4 And nd ways to keep your clan intact: With pretty tongues and honeyed lips, With attery and crooked hearts.
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296
寒山詩
終日禮道場， 8 持經置功課。 鑪燒神佛香， 打鐘高聲和。 六時學客舂， 12 晝夜不得臥。 只為愛錢財， 心中不脫灑。 見他高道人， 16 却嫌誹謗罵。 驢屎比麝香， 苦哉佛陀耶。
HS 277
又見出家兒，
有力及無力。
上上高節者，
4 鬼神欽道德。 君王分輦坐， 諸侯拜迎逆。 堪為世福田，
8 世人須保惜。
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Hanshan’s Poems 297
All day you pray in the Buddha Hall, 8 Grasp sutras for your daily chant.
Burn incense t for Buddhas and gods, Strike the bells with their high harmonies. Acting all day like a hired hand,1
12 Not a moment’s rest from day to night. But just because you covet wealth,
You can’t escape it in your mind.
Then when you see some lofty monk,
16 You doubt him and malign and curse. Ass dung next to the nest musk:
Oh Buddha! How bitter it all is.
HS 277
I’ve also seen those who leave the household, Both those with ability and those without. The best of the best, with lofty self-restraint:
4 Ghosts and spirits respect their virtue.
Lords and princes grant them seats in their palanquins, And feudal lords respectfully receive them.
They are worth becoming the age’s Field of Blessings,
8 And people of the age should all treasure them.
1 Literally, “through the six periods of the day imitating a hired laborer pounding grain. ” The point here is that the monk is not doing these rituals for his own salvation or out of compassion for sentient beings, but merely because he has been employed to do them by donors to the temple.
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298
寒山詩
下下低愚者，
詐現多求覓。
濁濫即可知，
12 愚癡愛財色。 著却福田衣， 種田討衣食。 作債稅牛犁，
16 為事不忠直。 朝朝行弊惡， 往往痛臀脊。 不解善思量，
20 地獄惡無極。 一朝著病纏， 三年臥床席。 亦有真佛性，
24 翻作無明賊。 南無佛陀耶， 遠遠求彌勒。
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Hanshan’s Poems 299
The lowest of the low, most stupid of all:
They make false display, mostly in search of gain. Their polluted natures may be known;
12 In their foolishness they’re fond of wealth and sex. Though they wear the robe of the Blessing Field,1 They plant elds seeking clothing and food.
They lend money, rent out ox and plow,
16 Faithless and false in what they do.
Every day they practice their wickedness,
And they are constantly ogged for their acts. 2 They don’t know how to think good and hard
20 That hell is awful and limitless.
One day you might be caught in the bonds of illness, And for three years must lie on your bed and mat. 3 Indeed, they have the nature of a true Buddha,
24 But instead they act like ignorant robbers. All hail the Lord Buddha!
May we all seek Maitreya afar. 4
1 I. e. , a monk’s robe. For Field of Blessings, see HS 233.
2 Literally, “constantly sore on the buttocks and spine. ”
3 Illness here is a comparative metaphor: just as a moment of contagion may result in
a lengthy illness, one bad action may have severe karmic consequences.
4 I interpret this nal couplet as a sort of “benediction” to the poem.
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300
寒山詩
HS 278
寒巖深更好，
無人行此道。
白雲高岫閑，
4 青嶂孤猨嘯。 我更何所親， 暢志自宜老。 形容寒暑遷，
8 心珠甚可保。 HS 279
巖前獨靜坐，
圓月當天耀。
萬象影現中，
4 一輪本無照。 廓然神自清， 含虛洞玄妙。 因指見其月，
8 月是心樞要。
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Hanshan’s Poems 301
HS 278
It’s better that Cold Cli is remote; Then no one will travel the road here. White clouds idly drift by high peaks,
4 And solitary gibbons howl on green cli s.
I no longer take anyone as my friends;
With my will indulged, it’s the best way to grow old. Though my form may alter with the cold and heat,
8 I can really protect the jewel of my mind.
HS 279
In front of the cli I sit quietly and alone; The full moon sparkles in the sky.
The shadows of everything appear in its light,
4 And yet its single wheel does not shine on its own. It is expansive, its spirit naturally clear; Transparent it is, hollow, a mysterious marvel.
See this moon as I point at it!
8 The moon is the pivot of the mind.
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302
寒山詩
HS 280
本志慕道倫，
道倫常獲親。
時逢杜源客，
4 每接話禪賓。 談玄月明夜， 探理日臨晨。 萬機俱泯跡，
8 方識本來人。 HS 281
元非隱逸士，
自號山林人。
仕魯蒙幘帛，
4 且愛裹踈巾。 道有巢許操， 耻為堯舜臣。 獼猴罩帽子，
8 學人避風塵。
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Hanshan’s Poems 303
HS 280
My aspirations admire these companions of the Way; Companions of the Way, whom I always befriend.
At times I meet a wanderer who has stopped up the source,1
4 And I always greet a guest who speaks of meditation.
We chat of mysteries on nights of bright moon,
And investigate principle until the sun rises.
When all the concerns of the world vanish with their traces,
8 Only then we know the original Self.
HS 281
Basically not even recluses at all,
They call themselves “men of the mountain woods. ” They work for the state, accept the o cial’s head cloth,2
4 But wrap themselves in the hermit’s turban. 3 They say they’ve the virtue of Chao or Xu,
Are ashamed to act as Yao’s or Shun’s statesmen. 4 But they’re monkeys wearing people hats,
8 Aping humans who shun the windblown dust.
1 That is, no longer acts in such a way as to produce karma (either good or bad). This is sometimes described as having “no out ows” (wu lou). Compare HS 303.
2 “Work for the state” here is literally “act as ministers for Lu,” the ancient Chinese
state associated with Confucius.
3 The “hermit’s turban” was a headgear associated with rich scholars presuming to
play the role of the retired gentleman, common from the fourth century CE on.
4 Chao Fu 巢父 and Xu You 許由 were both legendary recluses who gure in early Daoist folklore; both of them were o ered the throne of the empire by the ancient sage-king Yao and both refused it, citing their desire to remain free of the pollution
of public o ce. Yao then passed the throne on to the virtuous Shun.
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304
寒山詩
HS 282
自古諸哲人，
不見有長存。
生而還復死，
4 盡變作灰塵。 積骨如毗富， 別淚成海津。 唯有空名在，
8 豈免生死輪。 HS 283
今日巖前坐，
坐久煙雲收。
一道清谿冷，
4 千尋碧嶂頭。 白雲朝影靜， 明月夜光浮。 身上無塵垢，
8 心中那更憂。
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Hanshan’s Poems
305
HS 282
From olden times, all the wise men:
I’ve never seen one who could remain forever.