孟郊诗
Poems of Meng Jiao
Index
赠主人
For My Master
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斗水泻大海 不如泻枯池 分明贤达交 岂顾豪华儿 |
Each dipper of water that flows to the sea is Inferior to those flowing into dry ponds. Clarified by your worthy company Who could look on luxury? |
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海有不足流 豪有不足资 枯鳞易为水 贫士易为施 |
The ocean lack currents as Grandeur lack substance. Dried scales are soon moistened as Poor scholars are soon remade. |
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幸睹君子席 会将幽贱期 侧闻清风议 饫如黄金卮 |
Fate sees the places of gentlemen Will pass into lonely, dark times. When you hear them talking of goodness, They're like gold, overfull cups of wine. |
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此道与日月 同光无尽时 |
This way and its demonstration Shine as one, forever. |
-- 孟郊
废话
We have no way of knowing who Meng Jiao's Buddhist master is at this period. Someone as serious about Buddhism as Meng Jiao is would have more than one master over time.
It is interesting that, for Meng Jiao at least, the ocean is simply the still repository for the world's water. It is possible that, in the Tang, motion on the sea was seen entirely as motion induced by wind. I have no idea when mankind became aware of ocean currents.
The bigram 日月 has several meanings relating to the sun (日) and moon (月). But it is also often used as "life and livelihood," as we have seen in other poems. For Meng Jiao, Buddhism is not merely dogmatic or doctrinal. It is practical.
One more thing strikes me about Meng Jiao in this poem. He seems to genuinely love simplicity in the way Henry Thoreau did. The two would probably have gotten along well together.