Ryokan

no trespassing

Again

I sneak into your garden

to eat arena berries.

(Please keep yourself hidden

until I go away!)

~Ryokan, cited in: K Tanahashi, Sky Above, Great Wind

weaving
During a recent photo walk, I found myself ignoring a “no trespassing” sign while silently rehearsing innocent detail.  If I had not been somewhat oppositional, I would have missed this interesting chair being re-weaved by nature as well as a water lily pond and a kingfisher. Much the same as Ryokan, 190+ years ago, I found myself hoping the homeowners would keep themselves hidden until I went away.

vulgar songs fill the days…

dandelionproject729bweb

Customs become diluted year after year.

Both the noble and the common decline.

The human mind grows fragile with time;

the ancestral way becomes fainter day by day.

Teachers can’t see past the name of their school;

students enable their teachers’ narrow-mindedness.

They are glued to each other,

unwilling to change.
…
Thornbushes grow around high halls,

fragrant flowers wither in the weeds.

Vulgar songs fill the days.

Who will expound the luminous teaching?

Ah, I, a humble one,

have encountered this era.

When a great house is about to crumble,

a stick cannot keep it from falling.

Unable to sleep on a clear night,

I toss in bed, …

~Ryokan, 1796-1816 (K Tanahashi, Sky Above, Great Wind)

black & white sunday: after and before

See and realize 

that this world

is not permanent.

Neither late nor early flowers

will remain.

~Ryokan (K Tanahashi: Sky Above, Great Wind)

beforeafterbbeforeaftera

An early summer morning in Poudre Canyon…submitted in response to Lost in Translation’s photo challenge

cache la poudre river

If someone asks

where I live,

say:

“The farthest end of

the heavenly river shore.”

~Ryokan (K Tanahashi, Sky Above Great Wind)

paudreriverweb

Cache la Poudre River

The headwaters of the Cache la Poudre River, also known as the Poudre River, are in the Front Range in Larimer County.  The river descends from the northern part of Rocky Mountain National Park through the Poudre Canyon before it meanders across the plains  of northeastern Colorado on it’s journey towards the South Platte River.

The name of the river (French for “Hide the Powder”) is a corruption of the original Cache a la Poudre or “cache of powder”.  It refers to an incident in the 1820s when French trappers, buried part of their gunpowder along the banks of the river during a snowstorm.

cited:  wikipedia

100 days…95th day

Song of Chugen

My parents departed long ago.

How often I grieve in sadness!

I had only two aunts left:

…

100days95Last year I went to Kyoto and sobbed.

This year I moved to the shore of a lake and river.

My grief multiplies as I move through space and seasons.

…

Monks perform an urabon ceremony* after cleaning the temple.

The chanting of sad voices resounds to the red banners.

Then a cool breeze arrives;

cleansing and darkening showers merge with the dust.

Rain over, plantain shadow under the leaning sun-

the spirit of my father appears before me.

100daysbutterfjlydoubleexposure

After the ceremony I return to the monks’ quarters,

making a silent dedication for his liberation:

“Spirit, do not stay sunk forever.

Quickly prepare a boat and cross to the other shore.”

~Ryokan**

*Since the early days of Buddhism,

the Urabon Ceremony is a time set aside

for people to pray for the

peace and happiness of the deceased.

**cited:

Sky Above, Great Wind

Trans: K Tanahashi