Poetry Chaikhana Sacred Poetry from Around the World

Buddhist : Zen / Chan 13th Century	About Dogen Timeline (1200 - 1253)
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English version by Steven Heine Original Language Japanese	Ching-ch'ing's raindrop sound
Commentary by Ivan M. Granger Themes   Freedom   Sound         Recommended Books The Poetry of Zen: (Shambhalla Library), Edited by Sam Hamill / Edited by J. P. Seaton The Zen Poetry of Dogen: Verses from the Mountain of Eternal Peace, by Steven Heine Zen Poetry: Let the Spring Breeze Enter, Translated by Lucien Stryk / Translated by Takashi Ikemoto	Because the mind is free -- Listening to the rain Dripping from the eaves, The drops become One with me.     -- from The Zen Poetry of Dogen: Verses from the Mountain of Eternal Peace, by Steven Heine Amazon.com
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Commentary by Ivan M. Granger

Dogen is best known for his work in bringing Zen practice from China to Japan, and for his discourses on Zen meditation and monastic lifestyle. But I keep coming back to his poetry.

What can you say to a poem like this one? It immediately draws you to the point of stillness where no words exist. The mind is quiet, free, no longer hemmed in by the false notion of boundaries. The rhythm of rain, the drip-dripping of water from the eaves, is truly one with us. There is no longer a dividing line where you can say, "Here I end. Here the sound of rain begins." Rain flows into the I, the I pours into the rain, and they are one.

Ivan M. Granger's original poetry, stories and commentaries are Copyright © 2002 - 2008 by Ivan M. Granger.
All other material is copyrighted by the respective authors, translators and/or publishers.