晨诣超师院读禅经-An Early Morning Visit to the Buddhist Priest Chao to Read the Chan Scriptures
晨诣超师院读禅经
柳宗元
汲井漱寒齿,清心拂尘服。
闲持贝叶书,步出东斋读。
真源了无取,妄迹世所逐。
遗言冀可冥,缮性何由熟?
道人庭宇静,苔色连深竹。
日出雾露余,青松如膏沐。
淡然离言说,悟悦心自足。
An Early Morning Visit to the Buddhist Priest Chao
to Read the Chan Scriptures
Liu Zongyuan
I rinse my teeth with the drawn-out water cool,
Whisk dust off my clothes, and keep my heart of peace full.
Leisurely I take the book of Buddhist Sutra
And step out East Study to read with care extra.
To its truth few men have listened and tried to stick.
What they care ’bout are things absurd and fantastic.
If its teachings could make them what they wish to be,
How can I nurse my nature to the last degree?
So quiet is our reverend priest’s courtyard here
Whose mosses mixed in green with thick bamboo appear.
Still moistened by the dew and mist, when the sun shines,
As if they were bathed in oil, look these verdant pines.
A feeling of calm beyond words has seized on me.
Conscious of bliss, of course contented I should be.