11月19日

白居易禪詩 ─ 觀幻
唐 白居易 ( 772~846 )

有起皆因滅，無睽不暫同；
從歡終作慼，轉苦又成空。
次第花生眼，須臾燭過風；
更無尋覓處，鳥跡印空中。

──選自《白居易詩集校注》

November 19

Chan Poems by Bai Juyi - Contemplating the Illusory
Bai Juyi (772 - 846, Tang Dynasty)
English translation: John Balcom

All that arises exists because of cessation;
Without being apart, there is no coming together.
Delight will end in sorrow,
Turn to suffering, and become emptiness.

Your eyes grow weak with age,
Soon the candle will burn out in the wind,
With no place it can be found,
As birds' tracks left behind in the sky.

── from Bai Juyi Shiji Jiaozhu (Revisions and Annotations of Bai Juyi's Poetic Works)