No More Learning

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. They live, then return again to death,
4 All transformed to ash and dust.
A pile of bones high as Mount Vipula,1 Tears of parting become a sea.
Only their empty fame remains—
8 They could not avoid the wheel of rebirth.
HS 283
Today I am siting before the cli ,
Sitting long until the mist and clouds withdraw. One stretch of clear creek, cold;
4 A thousand fathoms of emerald cli .
The morning shadow of the white clouds is quiet, The nocturnal light of the bright moon oats. No lth at all is on my body—
8 What more should worry me in my heart?
1 For Mount Vipula, see HS 233.
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306
寒山詩
HS 284
千雲萬水間，
中有一閑士。
白日遊青山，
4 夜歸巖下睡。 倏爾過春秋， 寂然無塵累。 快哉何所依，
8 靜若秋江水。 HS 285
勸你休去來，
莫惱他閻老。
失脚入三途，
4 粉骨遭千擣。 長為地獄人， 永隔今生道。 勉你信余言，
8 識取衣中寶。
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Hanshan’s Poems 307
HS 284
Mid a thousand clouds and a myriad waters, There is an idle gentleman.
In daylight he roams the green hills,
4 Returning at night to sleep at the cli ’s foot.
In a ash he passes through spring and autumn; He is serene, unencumbered by dusty ties. Delightful! He depends on nothing;
8 He is as tranquil as an autumn river.
HS 285
I urge you to cease your coming and going— Don’t aggravate Old Man Yama! 1
One slip and you’ve entered the Three Evil Paths,
4 Flogged a thousand times, your bones ground to powder. You’ll long remain a denizen of Hell,
Forever cut o from the course you now live.
I press you to believe my words,
8 And recognize the jewel in your robe. 2
1 The king of Hell/the Underworld.
2 This is an allusion to a parable in the Lotus Sutra, in which a man endures much
poverty and su ering without realizing that his friend has sewn a jewel in his clothes. The jewel stands for the Buddha Nature. As with many of the Hanshan poems, this one emphasizes that only sudden realization of the Buddha Nature will allow one to escape the cycles of rebirth, which sooner or later will result in an existence in the hell realms.
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308
寒山詩
HS 286
世間一等流，
誠堪與人笑。
出家弊己身，
4 誑俗將為道。 雖著離塵衣， 衣中多養蚤。 不如歸去來，
8 識取心王好。 HS 287
高高峰頂上，
四顧極無邊。
獨坐無人知，
4 孤月照寒泉。 泉中且無月， 月自在青天。 吟此一曲歌，
8 歌終不是禪。
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Hanshan’s Poems 309
HS 286
There’s a kind of person in the world Who really has to make you laugh.
He “leaves the home,” brings harm to self;
4 To con the people is his Way.
Though he wears the garb that transcends dust,1 His garb is the breeding ground for eas.
Better far just to go back home,
8 Discern the virtue of the Prince of the Mind.
HS 287
High up above, on the top of the peak,
I can see all around without limit.
I sit solitary, and no one knows I am here—
4 While a lone moon shines on the cold stream. But there is no moon in the stream itself— The moon is actually in the night sky.
And when I chant this single song,
8 There is no dhyāna when the song ends. 2
1 I. e. , a monk’s robe.
2 Just as the re ection of the moon should not be mistaken for the moon itself, so the
poem should not be confused for the act of meditation (dhyāna) itself.
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310
寒山詩
HS 288
有箇王秀才，
笑我詩多失。
云不識蜂腰，
4 仍不會鶴膝。 平側不解壓， 凡言取次出。 我笑你作詩，
8 如盲徒詠日。 HS 289
我住在村鄉，
無爺亦無娘。
無名無姓第，
4 人喚作張王。 並無人教我， 貧賤也尋常。 自憐心的實，
8 堅固等金剛。
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Hanshan’s Poems 311
HS 288
A certain Wang, examinee—
He laughs at all my metric aws.
He says, “You don’t know Wasp-Waist,
4 And fail to notice Crane-knee faults. You can’t deploy the level and slant, And you scatter slang just everywhere. ”1 But I chuckle when you write verse—
8 A blind man trying to praise the sun.
HS 289
I live in a country village,
Without a dad, and without a mom, No name, no surname or family rank;
4 People just call me “Zhang” or “Wang. ” And no one has ever taught me;
I’m poor and lowly and ordinary.
But I cherish the reality of my Mind;
8 It’s as rm as diamond.
1 These are all errors in diction and tonality that were considered anathema in the recently developed “regulated verse” (lü shi 律詩) of the Tang era (the elite verse form par excellence).
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312
寒山詩
HS 290
寒山出此語，
此語無人信。
蜜甜足人嘗，
4 黃蘗苦難近。 順情生喜悅， 逆意多瞋恨。 但看木傀儡，
8 弄了一場困。 HS 291
我見人轉經，
依他言語會。
口轉心不轉，
4 心口相違背。 心真無委曲， 不作諸纏蓋。 但且自省躬，
8 莫覓他替代。 可中作得主， 是知無內外。
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Hanshan’s Poems 313
HS 290
Hanshan utters these words—
These words that no one believes.
Honey is sweet enough for people to taste,
4 But Amur cork is too bitter to try. 1
If you follow their mood, they’re happy and delighted; Go against their will, and most grow angry and resentful. Just look at those wooden puppets,
8 Acting out their performance of hardship!
HS 291
I see people “turning sutras”:2
They depend on others’ words to understand. Their mouths will turn, but not their minds,
4 So minds and mouths go di erent ways. If your mind’s true and has no twist, You won’t create entangling blocks.
So just be sure to watch yourself,
8 And don’t look for others to take your place. For if you learn to act as master,
This knowledge will have no “in” or “out. ”
1 For Amur cork, see HS 125.
2 “Turning sutras” (zhuan jing) is an idiomatic term for reading sutras aloud (often
in a ceremonial capacity).
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314
寒山詩
HS 292
寒山唯白雲，
寂寂絕埃塵。
草座山家有，
4 孤燈明月輪。 石床臨碧沼， 虎鹿每為鄰。 自羨幽居樂，
8 長為象外人。 HS 293
鹿生深林中，
飲水而食草。
伸脚樹下眠，
4 可憐無煩惱。 繫之在華堂， 餚膳極肥好。 終日不肯嘗，
8 形容轉枯槁。
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Hanshan’s Poems 315
HS 292
Only white clouds at Cold Mountain; Tranquil, severed from dust and grime.
My mountain home has seats of woven grass;
4 The bright moon’s wheel is my only lamp.
My stone bench looks down on the deep blue pond; Tigers and deer are always my neighbors.
I long for the joy of my hidden dwelling;
8 I’ll always dwell beyond the world of forms.
HS 293
A deer was born in the deep forest,
Where he drank the water and ate the grass.
He would stretch his legs and sleep under the trees;
4 A life to cherish, without nuisances. Then they tied him up at a splendid hall, Fed him rare delicacies, lovely and ne. All day he is unwilling to eat,
8 And his body grows ever more gaunt.
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316
寒山詩
HS 294
花上黃鶯子， 聲可憐。 美人顏似玉， 4 對此弄鳴弦。 翫之能不足， 眷戀在齠年。 花飛鳥亦散， 8 灑淚秋風前。
HS 295
棲遲寒巖下，
偏訝最幽奇。
攜籃采山茹，
4 挈籠摘果歸。 䔫齋敷茅坐， 啜啄食紫芝。 清沼濯瓢缽，
8 雜和煑稠稀。 當陽擁裘坐， 閑讀古人詩。
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Hanshan’s Poems 317
HS 294
The yellow orioles on the owers Twitter with a charming sound. A beauty with a face like jade
4 Faces them as she toys with her sounding strings. She is more than willing to play with them— But these were dearest childhood loves.
The owers y away and the birds leave too—
8 She spills her tears in the autumn wind.
HS 295
I roost and roam at the foot of Cold Cli ,
Especially amazed at its most hidden marvels.
I took hamper in hand and picked mountain vegetables,
4 I brought a basket and returned with fruit.
Now in my simple lodging I spread rushes and sit; I chew on the purple mushrooms,
Then wash gourd and bowl in a clear pool,
8 As I blend and simmer the thick and the thin. Basking in the sun I sit with my robe about me, Idly reading the poetry of the men of old.
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318
寒山詩
HS 296
昔日經行處，
今復七十年。
故人無來往，
4 埋在古冢間。 余今頭已白， 猶守片雲山。 為報後來子，
8 何不讀古言。 HS 297
欲向東巖去，
于今無量年。
昨來攀葛上，
4 半路困風煙。 徑窄衣難進， 苔粘履不前。 住茲丹桂下，
8 且枕白雲眠。
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Hanshan’s Poems
319
HS 296
The places I visited in former days— Now seventy years ago.
No more do old friends frequent me;
4 They’re buried now in old tomb mounds.
And now my head’s already white
While I still keep to this cloud-shred of hill. That is why I tell those who will come after me:
8 Why not read these words of old?
HS 297
I’ve wanted to go to East Mountain For countless years till now. Yesterday I clambered up vines,
4 But wind and mist blocked me halfway. Hard for clothes to brave the narrow path, And clinging moss hampered my shoes. So halting beneath an osmanthus tree,
8 I slept a while, with white clouds for my pillow.
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320
寒山詩
HS 298
我見利智人，
觀者便知意。
不假尋文字，
4 直入如來地。 心不逐諸緣， 意根不妄起。 心意不生時，
8 內外無餘事。 HS 299
身著空花衣，
足躡龜毛履。
手把兔角弓，
擬射無明鬼。
HS 300
君看葉裏花，
能得幾時好。
今日畏人攀，
4 明朝待誰掃。
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Hanshan’s Poems 321
HS 298
I see those men, clever and wise;
Observe them, then you’ll know their thoughts. They don’t rely on a search for written words,
4 But enter directly the Tathāgata’s ground.
If your mind doesn’t chase after the various conditions, Then the thinking sense will not wildly arise.
And if mind and thinking do not come into being,
8 There will be nothing remaining within and without.
HS 299
I don clothes fashioned of illusion,
And tread in shoes made of tortoise fur.
In my hand I grasp a bow of rabbit horn, Planning to shoot the demons of ignorance.
HS 300
You’ve seen blossoms amid the leaves: How long will they remain ne? Today I fear someone will pluck them;
4 Tomorrow I’ll wait for them to be swept away.
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322
寒山詩
可憐嬌豔情，
年多轉成老。
將世比於花，
8 紅顏豈長保。 HS 301
桂棟非吾宅，
松林是我家。
一生俄爾過，
4 萬事莫言賒。 濟渡不造筏， 漂淪為采花。 善根今未種，
8 何日見生芽。 HS 302
出生三十年，
當遊千萬里。
行江青草合，
4 入塞紅塵起。
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Hanshan’s Poems 323
Lovely, this charming, seductive mood— But with the years we grow older and older. Compare this world with these owers—
8 How can a rosy face last forever?
HS 301
Rafters of cinnamon wood—that’s not my house; The pine tree forest—that’s my home.
A single life passes in an instant;
4 Don’t say that worldly a airs are slow to come.
If you’re not building a raft to cross the river,
Then you’ll drift away because you picked owers. 1 If you don’t plant the roots of good deeds now,
8 When will you ever see the sprouts emerge?
HS 302
I’ve been in the world for thirty years
And I must have traveled a million miles.
Walked by rivers where the green grass grows thick,
4 And entered the frontier where the red dust rises.
1 That is, if you aren’t intent on crossing the river (attaining salvation), you might dawdle in ordinary pleasures and nd yourself carried o by the current of samsara.
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324
寒山詩
鍊藥空求仙，
讀書兼詠史。
今日歸寒山，
8 枕流兼洗耳。 HS 303
寒山無漏巖，
其巖甚濟要。
八風吹不動，
4 萬古人傳妙。 寂寂好安居， 空空離譏誚。 孤月夜長明，
8 圓日常來照。 虎丘兼虎谿， 不用相呼召。 世間有王傅，
12 莫把同周邵。 我自遯寒巖， 快活長歌笑。
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Hanshan’s Poems 325
Puri ed potions in vain search for immortality, Read books and perused the histories.
Today I return to Cold Mountain,
8 Pillow myself on the creek and wash out my ears.
HS 303
Cold Mountain is a cli with no out ows;1 This cli is a must if you would be saved. It stays motionless amid the Eight Winds,2
4 And people have told of its marvels forever. So tranquil: a ne place to dwell at peace.
So empty: away from mockery and contempt. The lonely moon at night is ever bright;
8 The round sun always comes to shine. Tiger Hill and Tiger Valley—3
No point in inviting me there.
In the world, one may be tutor to princes;
12 But there’s no way to rank with Zhou or Shao. 4
I shall betake myself to Cold Cli ,
Where I will be happy, forever singing and laughing.
1 “No out ows” refers to the condition of someone who no longer produces new karmic causes and conditions when she/he acts. The line here suggests that those who cultivate practice on Cold Mountain will no longer generate karma.
2 The Eight Winds are the various forces that can stimulate emotion: gain, loss, slander, eulogy, praise, ridicule, sorrow, and joy.
3 Two scenic spots: Tiger Hill is in Suzhou, and Tiger Valley at Mount Lu.
4 Since the Duke of Zhou and the Duke of Shao were both famed for tutoring King Cheng of Zhou in his rule, they are examples of virtuous ministers that the speaker
cannot hope to emulate. Better instead to become a recluse.
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326
寒山詩
HS 304
沙門不持戒，
道士不服藥。
自古多少賢，
盡在青山脚。
HS 305
有人笑我詩，
我詩合典雅。
不煩鄭氏箋，
4 豈用毛公解。 不恨會人稀， 只為知音寡。 若遣趂宮商，
8 余病莫能罷。 忽遇明眼人， 即自流天下。
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Hanshan’s Poems 327
HS 304
A monk who will not keep the precepts; A Daoist who does not take drugs.
Since times gone by, so many worthy men Have ended below the green hills. 1
HS 305
There are people who laugh at my poems;
Yet my poems are in keeping with the classic odes. But you needn’t bother with Master Zheng’s notes,
4 Nor use the explanations of Lord Mao. 2
I don’t resent that those who understand are rare; It’s only because those who know me are few.
I have resigned chasing after gong and shang,
8 And I can’t give up my metric aws. 3
But if they meet up with a clear-sighted person, They’ll be propagated throughout the world.
1 If you do not take your religious practice seriously, you will neither become a Transcendent (if a Daoist) or escape the cycles of rebirth (if Buddhist), and will simply perish, as many worthy ones have done in the past.
2 The poet is comparing his verse to the Classic of Poetry (Shijing), but saying that they are easier to understand, without need of commentary (Zheng and Mao were standard commentaries on the classic).
3 This is a tentative translation of an obscure couplet. I take it to mean that the poet does not follow the rules of tonal regulation (宮 and 商 are musical modes used sometimes to describe the tones of verse prosody), and that he does not plan to reform (病 is used speci cally to refer to violations of tonal propriety). Cf. HS 286 for another defense of metrical violation.
Unauthenticated Download Date | 11/18/17 8:42 AM
328
寒山詩
HS 306
寒山道，
無人到。
若能行，
4 稱十號。 有蟬鳴， 無鴉噪。 黃葉落，
8 白雲掃。 石磊磊， 山隩隩。 我獨居，
12 名善導。 子細看， 何相好。
HS 307
寒山寒，
冰鎖石。
藏山青，
4 現雪白。
Unauthenticated Download Date | 11/18/17 8:42 AM
Hanshan’s Poems 329
HS 306
The Cold Mountain road: No one comes.
If you’re able to travel it,
4 You’ll be called by ten names. 1 There cicadas cry,
But no crows caw.
Yellow leaves fall,
8 And white clouds sweep. Stones are heaped,
The mountain is remote. I dwell here alone;
12 I am named “Good Guide. ”2 But if you look carefully, What attributes do I have? 3
HS 307
Cold Mountain is cold;
Ice locks in the rocks, Hides the mountain’s green,
4 Reveals the white of snow.
1 I. e. , become a Buddha. These refer to ten honori c titles granted to the Buddha.
2 One of the titles of the Buddha.
3 “Attributes” (相) can be applied to the list of special physical qualities that the
Buddha is said to possess; however, Mahayana thought (e. g. , the Diamond Sutra) asserts that Buddhas are not knowable by their attributes. This poem may allude speci cally to the preface, in which Fenggan mysteriously hinted that Hanshan would not be recognizable in his incarnation as Mañjuśrī.
Unauthenticated Download Date | 11/18/17 8:42 AM
330
寒山詩
日出照，
一時釋。
從茲暖，
8 養老客。 HS 308
我居山，
勿人識。
白雲中，
常寂寂。
HS 309
寒山深，
稱我心。
純白石，
4 勿黃金。 泉聲響， 撫伯琴。 有子期，
8 辨此音。
Unauthenticated Download Date | 11/18/17 8:42 AM
Hanshan’s Poems 331
But the sun comes out to shine, And all at once it thaws.
From then on, it’s warm,
8 And can sustain an old man.
HS 308
I live on the mountain, And no one knows me.