白居易诗
Poems of Bai Juyi
Index
寄韬光禅师
For Master Tao Guang
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一山门作两山门 两寺原从一寺分 东涧水流西涧水 南山云起北山云 |
One mountain pass becomes two. Two temples were formerly one. East stream flows into west stream. South mountain's clouds merge with north's. |
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前台花发后台见 上界钟声下界闻 遥想吾师行道处 天香桂子落纷纷 |
Forecourt blossoms can be seen from the rear. Heaven's bell rings out and those below hear. I recall how my master would walk upon the Way. Celestial fragrance of sages falls all around. |
-- 白居易
废话
This is a late poem of Bai Juyi. But I don't know how late. The allusions are all Buddhist ones. Bai sent his collected works into three Buddhist temples for safekeeping and would not be above flattering a temple to ensure literary immortality. Maybe that is what this is. He did study Buddhism with monks at least three times in his life. But I don't think Tao Guang was one of his teachers. If you think about Buddhism and its history in China, the poem resonates more and more as you re-read it. Maybe that is what this poem is for.