For the Way of the sword is
folded two;
Like the rose we have thorns,
and like the rose, we unfold.

– Ji Aoi Isshi

The sun rises; the sun sets.
Watch it and see.
River and moon
Pine trees and wind,
All old poems to me.
Who needs words for the New Year!

– Tao Kai

I have no idea where the
Months have gone
Every time I turn around
Another year on earth is over.

– Han-shan Te-ch’ing (1546-1623)

Right at the moment of dropping off,
Deliberation and discussion
Are one thousand or
Ten thousand miles away.

– Hongzhi (1091-1157)

Not much to offer you,
Just a lotus flower floating
In a small jar of water.

– Ryokan (1758-1831)

If only I could share it:
The soft sound of snow
Falling late at night
From the trees

– Hakuin (1686-1768)

There seems to be no one on the empty mountain,
And yet I think I hear a voice,

– Wang Wei

The moment we are illumined within
We bypass all barriers.

– Seng-ts-an (d.606)

Don’t be surprised,
Don’t be startled;
All things will arrange themselves.

– Huai-nan-tzu

The first thing is not to grasp
The void.
If you sit in meditation
With an empty mind,
You will grasp the
Unrecordable voidness.

– Altar Sutra