孟郊诗
Poems of Meng Jiao
Index
上达奚舍人
On Reaching Master Xi
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北山少日月 草木苦风霜 贫士在重坎 食梅有酸肠 |
Northern hills have little to live on. Plants all wither in the frost. Poor scholar, in deep depression, Eats prunes that turn his stomach. |
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万俗皆走圆 一身犹学方 常恐众毁至 春叶成秋黄 |
Life's banalities all change their scenes. But one person keeps to his studies, Fearful lest an angry mob arrive and Change spring's leaves to autumn's yellow. |
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大贤秉高鉴 公烛无私光 暗室晓未及 幽行涕空行 |
The virtuous man grasps the lofty mirror, A public candle without a selfish gleam. In this dark room, daybreak has not yet reached me. In remoteness, I weep for emptiness. |
-- 孟郊
废话
Meng Jiao has been meditating in a deep cave (重坎) in the northern mountains. But 坎 is also "depression" and because I have also sat in deep depression as he seems to do here, I risk interpreting "depression" anachronistically. The Tang people would certainly have felt depression at times. But they may not have called it "depression" or 坎.
He goes on to meet Xi Sheren (奚舍人). 舍人 can be "palace secretary" or "people of a village." Here, I believe it refers to an itinerant Buddhist master, as 舍 is also used for "alms." A Buddhist with a begging bowl, I think. While Xi1 (奚) is a family name, it could also be the name taken by this person in Buddhism as it literally means "who?" So "Itinerant Xi" is "Itinerant Who?" and, if he chose this name, he certainly has a sense of humor that Meng Jiao will appreciate.
Dao4hang2 (道行) is the "practice of the Way" and refers to both Daoists and Buddhists. Here I take kong1hang2 (空行) to be "practice of emptiness" or prolonged meditation.