Sublime
An inspiration engine for ideas
TRULY, I love this life of seclusion. Carrying my staff, I walk toward a friend’s cottage. The trees in his garden, soaked by the evening rain, Reflect the cool, clear autumnal sky. The owner’s dog comes to greet me; Chrysanthemums bloom along the fence. These people have the same spirit as the ancients; An earthen wall marks their separation from
... See moreJohn Stevens • One Robe, One Bowl: The Zen Poetry of Ryokan
the forest is quiet but partial to birds
Cold Mountain (Han Shan) • The Collected Songs of Cold Mountain
Tilicho Lake by David Whyte
In this high place
it is as simple as this,
Leave everything you know behind.
Step toward the cold surface,
say the old prayer of rough love
and open both arms.
Those who come with empty hands
will stare into the lake astonished,
there, in the cold light
reflecting pure snow,
the true shape of your own face.
After meditation I chant a Cold Mountain poem after dinner I brew grain-rain tea and when some feeling lingers I can’t express I take a basket across the ridge and gather vine flowers
Stonehouse Red Pine • The Mountain Poems of Stonehouse
You ask me why I dwell in the green mountains.
I smile and make no reply.
My heart is free of care.
The peach-tree blooms,
The waters Flow
Into the unknown.
I dwell in a Realm
That is not of Men.