生死交織_Life and Death Intertwined

尸林在小鎮的一隅
　死亡與生活似乎分隔
但在尸林內
林間的鳥語風聲　流水
偶而一瞥的小鹿　松鼠
和乘風飄旋而落的楓葉
令忙著挖挖補補　除草整路
的工人們　以及此去彼來的
追思者　散步客
毫不寂寞　

在此埋骨的並非在此辭世
他們都是在生活的領域中凋零
屍體可以移開　獨處一隅
死亡卻無從排除　與生活分離
表面上生死有隔　實際上
生死交織是生命的真象

正在枯萎的花木　也正是微生物的溫床
逐漸腐化的屍體　不正培養著許多生命
一出生就是步向尸林的開始
死裡有生，生裡有死　大自然的循環
我們何以厚此薄彼
貪生怕死呢？

認清真象接受生死交織的事實
安心過生死一如的生活吧

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　二○○七年十月廿八日
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　養和齋　　　　於加州

Life and Death Intertwined　Yutang Lin

The cemetery sits at one corner of the small town
　　　　 Death and daily life seem separated
But inside the cemetery
Sounds of birds and winds in the trees, the flowing stream
Occasional glances of deer, squirrel
And maple leaves swirling down on the wing of winds
Make workers, busy with digging and patching,
Mowing and clearing, and the coming and leaving
Mourners, and exercising strollers feel
Not a bit lifeless

Those whose bodies were buried here did not die here
They all faded away in the realm of daily living
Corpses can be removed, to stay alone at a corner
But death cannot be dispelled, and separated from daily life
On the surface, life and death are separated, but indeed
Life and death intertwined is the true fact of life

A withering flower or plant is simultaneously the culture bed for microbes
Corpses that are gradually decaying serve to nourish many kinds of lives
At birth one begins the stroll toward the eventual rest in cemetery ground
In death there is life, and in life there is death, 'tis the cycle of mother nature
Why do we prefer one to the other, and are
Clinging to life but afraid of death

Recognize clearly the facts, and accept the truth of life and death intertwined
Remain at ease in living a life of understanding life and death are one

Written in Chinese and translated on October 28, 2007
El Cerrito, California

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