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Climbing the Mountain

Yuan Mei, Yuan Mei poetry, Buddhist, Buddhist poetry, Zen / Chan poetry, [TRADITION SUB2] poetry, Taoist poetry by Yuan Mei
(1716 - 1798) Timeline

English version by
J. P. Seaton

Original Language
Chinese

Buddhist : Zen / Chan
Taoist
18th Century

I burned incense, swept the earth, and waited
               for a poem to come...

Then I laughed, and climbed the mountain,
               leaning on my staff.

How I'd love to be a master
               of the blue sky's art:

see how many sprigs of snow-white cloud
               he's brushed in so far today.

 

 

-- from I Don't Bow to Buddhas: Selected Poems of Yuan Mei, Translated by J. P. Seaton

Amazon.com

 

Themes

  Fire
  Lover and Beloved
  Mountain
  Snow
 


Recommended Books


Censored by Confucius: Ghost Stories of Yuan Mei, Edited by Kam Louie
A Drifting Boat: Chinese Zen Poetry, Edited by J. P. Seaton / Edited by Dennis Maloney
I Don't Bow to Buddhas: Selected Poems of Yuan Mei, Translated by J. P. Seaton
The Poetry of Zen: (Shambhala Library), Edited by Sam Hamill / Edited by J. P. Seaton
Yuan Mei: Eighteenth Century Chinese Poet, by Arthur Waley

 

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Ivan M. Granger's original poetry, stories and commentaries are Copyright © 2002 - 2009 by Ivan M. Granger.
All other material is copyrighted by the respective authors, translators and/or publishers.