The rain has stopped;
The clouds have drifted away,
And the weather is clear again.
If your heart is pure,
Then all things in your world are pure.
Abandon this fleeting world,
Abandon yourself,
Then the moon and flowers will
Guide you along the Way.

If there is beauty, there must be ugliness;
If there is right, there must be wrong
Wisdom and ignorance are complementary,
And illusion and enlightenment cannot be separated.
This is an old truth,
Dont think it was discovered recently,
´"I want this, I want that"
Is nothing but foolishness.
I´ll tell you a secret,
"All things are impermanent!"

One Robe, One Bowl - The Zen Poetry of Ryokan.


Our life in this world -
to what shall I compare it?
It?s like an echo
-resounding through the mountains
-and off into the empty sky.

~Ryokan