8月16日

和子由澠池懷舊
宋 蘇軾 ( 1036~1101 )

人生到處知何似？應似飛鴻踏雪泥；
泥上偶然留指爪，鴻飛那復計東西？
老僧已死成新塔，壞壁無由見舊題；
往日崎嶇還記否，路長人困蹇驢嘶。

──選自《東坡詩集》

【案】人生如浮萍，隨水飄浮不知所終；
人生也像白雲，飄盪空中，不知何處安住？鴻
鵠飛鳥在下雪的泥土上，偶爾留下了爪印，
也只是短暫的一痕，一剎那又飛走了，
他哪裡會知道飛到何處去？

人與人間的關係就像相逢的旅人，偶然在
途中相遇，短暫交會，馬上又要各奔前程。
緣聚則生，緣滅則散，因緣法讓我們學習隨
緣自適，隨分做事，隨理說話，隨遇而安，
隨人相處，隨心自在。

August 16

Recalling Minchi with My Brother Ziyou
Su Shi (1036 - 1101, Song Dynasty)
English translation: John Balcom

Running everywhere, to what can life be compared?
Like a crane treading in snow,
It might leave tracks in the snow.
After the crane has flown, does it remember east or west?
The old monk died, a new stupa was built,
No traces of our poems can be found on the ruined walls.
Do you recall those mountainous paths?
The way is long, the traveler exhausted,
    the crippled donkey cries.

── from Dongpo Shiji (Collected Poems of Su Shi)

NOTE: Life is like duckweed, floating on water, not knowing its
destination. Life is also like clouds, drifting in the air, not knowing its
home. Swans and birds leave their footprints only temporarily on the
snowy ground before flying off once again, knowing not where the next
stop will be.

People are like travelers, occasionally crossing paths in life for a short
moment, and then separating once again. When conditions are present,
matters arise; and when conditions disperse, matters cease to be. The law
of Dependent Origination enables us to make peace with ever-changing
conditions, to do our best in a given role, to speak in accord with
principles, to settle in any given circumstances, to deal with different
people accordingly, and to be at perfect ease by following our hearts.