Poetry Chaikhana
Sacred Poetry from Around the World

Buddhist : Zen / Chan

13th Century

About Dogen

Timeline (1200 - 1253)

Dogen, Dogen poetry, Buddhist, Buddhist poetry, Zen / Chan poetry, [TRADITION SUB2] poetry, poetry

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English version by
Steven Heine

Original Language
Japanese

One of six verses composed in An'yoin Temple in Fukakusa, 1230:

Themes

Birth, Rebirth

Death

Sound

Water

Womb

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

Drifting pitifully in the whirlwind of birth and death,
As if wandering in a dream,
In the midst of illusion I awaken to the true path;
There is one more matter I must not neglect,
But I need not bother now,
As I listen to the sound of the evening rain
Falling on the roof of my temple retreat
In the deep grass of Fukakusa.

1230

-- from The Zen Poetry of Dogen: Verses from the Mountain of Eternal Peace, by Steven Heine

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Poetry Chaikhana Sacred Poetry from Around the World

About Dogen

Poetry Chaikhana
Sacred Poetry from Around the World