庐山烟雨浙江潮 Qiantang River tides and Lushan misty rain

Qiantang River tides and Lushan misty rain

Chinese original: Su Shi

English version: Julia Min (Dec. 2024)

Qiantang River tides and Lushan misty rain—

A hunt of desire and distance drains the mind.

Once there, your curious eye will only find:

Qiantang River tides and Lushan misty rain.

from KKnews.cc (每日头条）

Analysis: 

The Zen humour under the line is associated with the three stages of life in spiritual transcendence. It resonates with the famous lines from Wei Xing, a Zen master, who said: “Before studying Buddhism, I saw the mountain and the river just as they appeared to me. After studying Buddhism, the mountain was not just a mountain, and the river was not just a river. Now, the mountain and the river are still the mountain and the river. The third stage seems to have no difference from the first, as in this poem, where the last line is a simple repetition of the first.”  Yes, the external world remains the same, but the monk is no longer the same monk. With a profound understanding of Buddhism, his inner world is transformed to a whole new level. He was enlightened and found peace of mind. Simple words for profound philosophy -- typical of Zen’s way of presenting life.

Legend has it that this is his last poem, written for his son Su Guo, who was about to start his career in government. Whether Su Shi wrote it is still debated, but the tone, theme, and popular story behind it make it likely his work.

庐山烟雨浙江潮

原作: 苏轼（字子瞻, 号东坡居士; 11世纪北宋）

庐山烟雨浙江潮，

未至千般恨不消。

到得还来别无事，

庐山烟雨浙江潮。