[updated September 2022]
Summer Days Go to Lulong Temple, Pay Respects to Chan Master Cao
夏 日 濄 青 龍 寺 谒 操 蝉 帥
龍 中 一 老 翁
徐 步 谒 禅 宫。
欲 问 義 心 義
遥 知 空 病 空。
山 河 天 眼 离
世 界 法 身 中。
莫 怪 销 炎 熟
能 生 大 地 风。
Xia Ri Guo Qing Long Si Ye Cao Chan Shuai
Long zhong yi lao weng
Xu bu ye chan gong.
Yu wen yi xin yi
Yao zhi kong bing kong.
Shan he tian yan li
Shi jie fa shen zhong.
Mo guai xiao yan shu
Neng sheng da di feng.
Summer Days, Go to Lulong Temple, Pay Respects to Chan Master Cao
To Lulong, one decrepit old man
Slowly walk to visit him in a Chan temple.
Want to ask about the significance of a heart-mind that desires
Distant knowledge cannot be used to blame or harm emptiness.
Natural and inherent mountain waters express their inner essence
Universe patterned after a framework that fits together exactly.
Do not complain about the melting, scorching heat
It is possible to cause the winds of the earth to blow.
Notes:
Chan Temple: Zen Buddhist temple
Emptiness: Refers to the Doctrine of Emptiness, the spiritual insights experienced by the Buddha under the bodhi tree.
Universe patterned: This couplet could also be interpreted as:
“With the inner eye of Heaven, see all the mountains and rivers,
The universe at the center of the Dharma body.”