141 Chen's Ethical Poems Selected
CW43_No.141
Translated from Chinese by the author
the Buddhist Yogi C. M. Chen
1."Sky is high, sea is deep" seems no vain,
Our blessings are much more than just fain.
They are like my tears of thanksgiving;
How could I count al the drops of rains?!
2.Nobody has time to borrow.
After today there comes tomorrow.
You have to do it in time now,
Lest you would be deep in sorrow!
3.My mind is as wide as the heaven-star.
No devil could have chance with me to war.
Since I have seen, there is no "Self" at all;
Buddha does live in my body-altar!
4.Many wonderful things told in my journey.
They never bother my mind sweet as honey.
I do appreciate to have poor family
Which has not any need to take care of money!
5.My zen is poem, and my poem is zen mere,
There is no law nor rule to cohere!
Neither takes seven steps nor eight slaps,
Freely it comes out from my mouth and here!
6.Warm or cool, the weather has no certain.
Our care of food and sleep is not in vain.
A child's illness causes his parents' sorrows;
We should not give sorrow to our Kuan-Yin!
7.In humor, three laws the Confucius lays;
All Elders should not live in a lust way.
When mind has no lust, hands shouldn't extend out;
Hence, need no method to keep thieves away!
8.What is the manner to those opposed orders?
Kindly I drive devils out of my border.
When devils and their family run away,
There is no more trouble of contrary murder!
9.Habitually I use the cloth shoes;
It is cheap and quite suitable to you.
Some plastic pieces to protect its leaks,
I passed all streets using them like new.
10.Beings are under sky-shelf.
All seems playing the golf!
Even there're many saints
Who never knows his self!
11. The barber holds the mirror facing me East and West,
I do look in it with my beautiful manner best!
More than the old sage Parsva's age, I am eighty-three,
I don't look like young boy in pretty face and honest!
12.All good wills vanished in Ocean east.
All sorrows and pleasures are like mist.
Could the Sunyata prevail the world?
Better to let sinners and saints rest!
13.Taking note of our doubt is demon.
Make not all our errors so common.
Things have not been exactly proved well;
Do not determine them, right or wrong!
14.Many fruits' juice you drink;
Many hens' meat you bite!
Their lives should be returned
By Buddha's holy light!
15.We should keep our enthusiastic mind;
Treating every man one should be kind!
See our beautiful and pretty sky,
There is no defilement one could find!
16.Carrying the grand event I should be kind!
I must be patient at any distress I find!
I do know many kinds of pains will come,
Feeble may be my body, never my mind!
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