Thursday, February 04, 2010
Poems by Ryokan
Ryōkan Taigu (良寛大愚?) (1758–1831)was Japanese Zen monk who lived the early part of his life as a wanderer with no fixed home (unsui, "a cloud and water monk.") Later he settled as a hermit in a mountain hut, and there for many years he lived an isolated life communing with nature, composing poetry, and executing beautiful calligraphy. Sometimes he wandered into the nearby village to play with the children and to beg for food. At times he was so absorbed in his playing that he forgot the food part.
He was originally ordained as Ryōkan Taigu. Ryō means "good", kan means "broad", and Taigu means "great fool"; Ryōkan would thus translate as "broad-hearted generous fool", referring to qualities that Ryōkan's work and life embodies.
(Wikipedia)
Here are some of his poems:
Moon watching,
I spend the night
chanting poems.
Lost among blossoms,
I forget to go home.
Unless the poem
says something from the inner
heart,
what shall we do
with so many empty words?
Autumn fading,
mountain flaming red.
Ink ground,
sake poured--
still no one arives.
The wind blows fresh
and moonshine is clear.
Let's dance all night
even if I am
getting old!
In the village
the music of drums
and flutes,
but here on the mountain
only wind in the pines.
An old man
shut inside all winter
deeo in the mountains--
who would visit
but you?
