Teachings From Ancient Vietnamese Zen Masters – 26
7 The Spring
When spring goes, all flowers die.
When spring comes, all flowers smile.
Before the eyes, all things flow endlessly.
Over the head, old age comes already.
Don’t say that with the spring gone, all flowers fall.
Last night, in the front yard, a branch of mai flower.
MAN GIAC (1052 – 1096)
(COMMENT: Mai is a kind of flower that blossoms in springtime in
Vietnam. Notice the contrast between the first and last line; also, the
last line of the poem is a fragment sentence, without a verb, showing
the state of unborn, unmoving, undying. While the stream manifests as
endless waves rising and falling, the nature of water stays unmoved,
uncreated. Now look at your mind, and see thoughts coming and going,
arising and vanishing. The mind is just like a mirror that shows you the
images of all things reflected. All images come and go, but the
reflectivity is still there, unmoving, undying. Now, listen to the sound of
two hands clapping, then listen to the sound of one hand clapping. Do
you hear the soundless? The sound comes and goes, but the nature of
hearing ability is still there even in your sleep, unchanging, unmoving,
undying.)
