The following
poem is another from Kenneth Rexroth's collection of translations
from the Chinese titled "Love and the Turning Year."
Westerners often wonder about the Buddhist term, "enlightenment."
Many of us assume that enlightenment or "Nirvana" is
a state of mind that transports us to an other worldly spiritual
realm.This poem, however, seems to imply that enlightenment awaits
us in the everyday and the things of this world. The author,
Ch'en Yu Yi, lived from 1090 to 1138.
Enlightenment
A breach of clear heaven
opens
In the clouds. To the
Southwest
The River stretches smooth
and still.
There are tattered skirts
of mist
On the sandbars. On the
wall a
Magpie shakes his wet
feathers
And scolds. Beyond the
rooftops
The thunder is still grumbling.
I decide to profit by
The fresh air and pay
myself
A small sum of peace.
I hunt
Busily for some fine words
To announce the return
of
Good weather, and the
splendor
Of the evening, but I
have
No one to share them with.
So I sit quietly and watch
The Milky Way light up.
I am suffused with its
glow.
All my spirit is illuminated.
Ch'en Yu Yi
Translation by Kenneth Rexroth
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