Home > Work > Cold Mountain: One Hundred Poems by the t'Ang Poet Han-Shan
1 " I sit beneath the cliff, quiet and alone.Round moon in the middle of the sky’s a bird ablaze:all things seen are mere shadows in its brilliance,that single wheel of perfect light…Alone, its spirit naturally comes clear.Swallowed in emptiness in this cave of darkest mystery,because of the finger pointing, I saw the moon.That moon became the pivot of my heart. "
― Hanshan , Cold Mountain: One Hundred Poems by the t'Ang Poet Han-Shan
2 " I once saw a huge pack of dogs, scruffy, mangy, maybe so, but they slept where they pleased, and waking, ran romping. But throw them a bone? It was war in the street . . . Maybe it’s a good thing bones are rare: but until there’s enough, no creature will share. "
3 " As long as we are bound by the Six Extremesdiscussing the Nine Knots is futiletalented men remain in the wildsthe unskilled close rough doorsthe cliffs are still dark at noonthe valleys stay dim on cloudless dayshere you'll find the sons of eldersand none of them have any pants "
4 " I live in a village in the countryside, without a father or a mother. With no name, no rank in my clan. Some people will call me any old name. Some people call me another. No one is my teacher: I’m just a poor low creature like many another. But I know myself. I’m real, and my heart is the Diamond. "
