One Thought, a Mortal Life · Above and Below, All Connected · 79 / 102
· Heaven and Earth Unbounded
Heaven's decree is idle talk. I tear up the and throw myself into the world's eight hundred ways. Joy is enough—Buddha or Dao, no matter; what I mean to write is the free and unfettered life. Blade in hand, astride my horse, I kill and spare none; blood spatters, and the flying sand scours it away. Clad in black I take form, hidden in the color of night, and put down the traitors in the imperial city.
With care I give out mineral medicines; I strike the until it splits; by the three forgettings I pass beyond rebirth. Cupping my wine, I set the shooting stars swaying; I read the universe in silence, and rise again in all my splendor. The lie level and calm; I tip the cup and drink my fill, and sitting on the bare ground I pick a new meaning apart. Joy brings tears—while this body lasts, the Zen heart will not die.
Glosses—
the three forgettings: forgetting home, forgetting kin, forgetting self.
*This piece is an original work. If you repost it, please credit the original author Shixi Lin; any infringement, once discovered, will be pursued to the full extent of the law. In addition, the accompanying illustration comes from the internet and belongs to its original artist, Yichui Wuyue.