No Just Poetic

By Nob Ody

In a poetically way expands consciousness or it is a means to have a more profound vision about Reality.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Nob Ody
• Release date: Mar 8, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215079522

Book preview

Smile and live now (this instant!).

Old Pang requires nothing in the world:

all is empty with him, even a seat he hasn’t,

for Absolute Emptiness reigns in his household;

how empty indeed it is with no treasures!

When the sun arises, he walks through Emptiness,

when the sun sets, he sleeps in Emptiness;

sitting in Emptiness he sings his empty songs,

and his empty songs reverberate through Emptiness.

Who say my poems are poems?

My poems are not poems.

After you know that my poems are not poems,

then we can begin to discuss poetry!

Oneself and Life should be seen as two dancers

who move in such close accord,

that it is impossible to say which moves and which responds,

which is the active and which is the passive partner.

nodokasa no                 Tranquillity

     hitori yuki hitori            walking alone;

          omoshiroki                   enjoying alone.

His thatched cottage gate is closed,

and even the wisest know him not.

No glimpses of his inner life are to be caught;

for he goes on his own way

without following the steps of the ancient sages.

He is found in company with animals and women

and some of these last are converted into Buddhas.

Bare-chested and bare-footed, he goes into the dust of the world,

smeared with mud and daubed with ashes, he wears a broad grin.

He hasn't need of the secrets powers of the gods,

for undeliberately the dead trees blossom with flowers.

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Learning follows various roads.

We see the start but not the end

for time and fate must rule the course,

while we see not beyond the bend.

The best of knowledge is a dream;

the gainer holds steadfast,

uncowed by ridicule, moves serene,

despised and lowly in the crowd.

kore wa kore wa             Ah! I said, Ah!

     to bakari hana no           it was all that i could say:

          yoshino-yama                 the cherry-flowers of Mt. Yoshino!

To exercise no-thought and follow no-method

is the first step toward understanding Tao.

To dwell nowhere and lie in nothing

is the first step toward resting in Tao.

To start from nowhere and follow no road

is the first step toward attaining Tao...

but all these is still missing Tao.

shizukasa wo                Making quietude

     waga aite nari               my only companion,

          fuyugomori                   winter seclusion.

May be the rain is pattering,

may be the trees in the ravine are whispering

or it may be the maple leaves scattering

in a puff of blast at midnight.

miidera no mon                  I would fain knock

     tatakaba ya                        at the gate of Mii temple,

          kyô no tsuki                        under tonight’s moon.

The conditions of a solitary bird are five:

the first, that it flies to the highest point;

the second, that it doesn’t suffer for company,

not even of its own kind;

the third, that it aims its beak to the skies;

the forth, that it doesn’t have a definite colour;

the fifth, that it sings very softly.

Stop your thoughts,

forget your hankerings,

and your Nature reveals Itself

through pure feelings.

Within man there is a certain feeling of a magnificent Aloneness,

standing all by Itself and yet no separated from the rest of existence.

Carrying a staff across his shoulders,

let him ramble about in the fields,

east or west, north or south,

and beat the old stumps to his heart’s content.

Among the trees and bushes

luxuriantly growing wild

stands my hut buried,

which none would care to visit.

In the composition of a work of art there must be

spiritual breath coming and leaving without hindrance.

Whether awake or asleep

i have been yearning to go ahead

along the way for the Truth,

no matter how hard it is.

hitotsu ya ni                              Sleeping in the same abode

     yûjo mo netari                           with courtesans:

          hagi to tsuki                              lespedeza flowers and the moon.

From the point of view of Great Action,

dancing or the performance of an acrobatic trick or seeing too,

yield a weighty significance.

hinsô wa                    The physiognomy of poverty

     onore o shimesu          is the very face

          uranaishi                   of the fortune-teller.

I have nothing

to look forward to,

so just let me be wafted on

like a cloud sailing high!

A fishing village;

     dancing under the moon,

          to the smell of raw fish.

The greatest perfection seems imperfect.

The greatest fullness seems empty.

The greatest straightness seems crooked.

The greatest dexterity seems awkward.

The greatest eloquence seems stammering.

The best soldier isn’t soldierly.

The best fighter isn’t ferocious.

The best conqueror doesn’t take part in war.

The best employer of men keeps himself bellow them.

We should float upon the waves of circumstances

that can both drown or buoy us up.

Oh, this one rare occurrence

for which would i not be glad to give ten thousand pieces of gold!

A hat is on my head, a bundle round my loins;

and on my staff the refreshing breeze and the full moon i carry!

yuku haru ya             Departing spring;

     tori naki uo no          birds crying,

          me wa namida            tears in the fishes eyes.

All composite things are impermanent,

they are subject to birth and death;

when birth and death are transcended,

absolute tranquillity is realized and blessed are we.

The beach pine has no voice

but when the wind blows it sings.

As for the skin,

what a difference

between a man and a woman!

But as for the bones

both are simply human beings.

What?, why?, where?, and how? _

all these questions are irrelevant

to the fundamental understanding of Life.

ugoku ha mo                  How dreadful!

     nakute osoroshi               not a leaf stirs

          natsu kodachi                 in the summer grove!

Who can free himself from achievement and from fame,

descend and be lost amid the masses of men.

He will flow like Tao, unseen,

he will go about like Life Itself

with no name and no whereabouts.

Simple is he, without sophistication.

To all appearances he is an ordinary fellow.

His steps leave no trace. He has no power,

he achieves nothing, has no reputation.

Since he judges no one, no one judges him.

Such is the perfect man: his mind is empty.

Have no regard for martial aspects

when training,

but rather adhere to

the way of inner peace,

harmony and placidity.

shaka ni toute            Winter seclusion;

     mitaki koto ari           there is something i’d like to ask

           fuyugomori               Buddha.

As the moon shines

clean and clear

let me enjoy a plum branch

in the evening so quiet.

What all Buddhas consider most essential and most momentous,

what all patriarchs consider most momentous and most essential,

is to know without contacting the events as they arise,

is to illumine the mind without facing the conditions as they come up.

Poetic intuition manifests the inwardness of the poet;

together with the things which resound in it.

I am aware of the value of wu wei

and of the value of teaching with no words.

As for the value of wu wei,

nothing in the world can match it.

I thought all the time

i was learning how to win,

but i realize now:

to win is no more no less,

than to lose.

nusubito no               Oblivious

     miru to mo shirade       of the gaze of the thief,

          hiyashi uri               melons in cool.

In the bamboo groves, my thatched house is built by the rocks.

Through openings among the stems of the bamboo, the distant village is seen.

I take it easy all day, and receive no visitors,

but the pure breeze sweeps the path leading to my door.

Upon the clatter of a broken tile

all i had learnt was at once forgotten.

Amending my nature is needless;

pursuing the tasks of everyday life

i walk along the ancient path.

I feel jubilant in the mindless Void.

Wheresoever i go i leave no footprint,

for i am not within colour or sound.

Enlightened ones everywhere have said,

such as this is the attainless attainment.

Thoughtlessness is the Principle;

formlessness is the Body;

abodelessness is the Source.

Breaking off a branch of crimson leaves,

and writing poems of autumn;

plucking the yellow flowers,

and making them the evening meal.

nan to iu                      I don’t know

     tori ka shiranedo          what bird it was,

          ume no eda                  but the spray of plum-blossom!

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The wind-blown

smoke of Mount Fuji

vanishing far away!

Who knows the destiny

of my thought?

tsubakuro ya           The swallow

     nani wo wasurete       turns a somersault;

          chugaeri                what has it forgotten?

One who is aware doesn’t talk,

one who talks isn’t aware.

Ceasing verbal expressions,

stopping the interpretation of sensations,

dulling its sharpness,

releasing its entanglements,

tempering its brightness,

and unifying with the events:

this is called the identity of Tao.

Hence, no nearness can reach him

nor distance affect him.

No gain can touch him nor loss disturb him.

No esteem can move him nor shame distress him.

Thus, he is the most valuable man in the world.

The Perfect Way is only difficult for those who pick and choose;

don’t like, don’t dislike; all will then be clear.

Make a hairbreadth difference and heaven and earth are set apart.

If you want the Truth to stand clear before you, never be for or against;

the struggle between polarities is the mind’s worst disease.

The Great Path has no gates,

thousand of roads enter It.

When one passes through the Gateless Gate

one walks freely between heaven and earth.

When the wise stays back, he steps forward.

When he forgets his self, he finds his Self.

It is through selflessness that one achieves Selfhood!

Last year’s poverty wasn’t yet perfect;

this year’s poverty is absolute.

In last year’s poverty there was at least a grain of rice;

in this year’s poverty there is only the remembrance.

yanagi ari                        A willow;

     fune matsu ushi no          and two or three cows

          ni san biki                        waiting for the boat.

Have the mind devoid of all fear,

free from all forms of attachment

and it is master of itself.

Thus it knows no hindrances, no inhibitions,

no stoppages, no clogging.

It follows its own course.

The study of Mind is like sowing seeds in the ground;

when conditions are matured, Tao will see Itself through you.

nusumikû                      The stolen apples

     ringo ni hara wo           which i ate,

          itamekeri                       gave me a stomach-ache.

Harmonizing with the way of Heaven,

without contending, one inevitable wins.

without asking, one spontaneously receives a response.

without invitation, success comes by itself.

Unintentionally, the Heavenly way is well-devised.

The net of Nature is all-embracing,

although the spaces are large, nothing escapes it.

There is nothing special about what i do each day;

i only keep myself in harmony with It.

Painting is to estimate the shape of things and really obtain them,

to appraise the beauty of things and reach it,

to sense the reality (essence) of things and grasp it.

One shouldn’t take outward beauty for Reality;

he who doesn’t understand this mystery won’t obtain the Truth

even though his pictures may contain likeness.

Likeness can be obtained by shapes without Spirit,

but when the Truth is reached, Spirit and substance are both fully expressed.

When prison stocks are iron and have a place for the head,

the prisoner is doubly in trouble.

When there is no place for Zen in the head of our generation,

it is in grievous trouble.

If you try to hold up the gate and door of a falling house,

you also will be in trouble.

For me there is no master,

since one like me doesn’t exist.

In the world including the gods,

there exists no one to equal my non-existence.

kaze fukanu                      The wind ceases;

     mori no shizuku ya          water drips in the forest;

          kankodori                         a cuckoo sings.

While i am here, It is in me;

after this life, i am in It.

All things are therefore possible to me,

if i harmonise with That

which does all things.

He who pursues learning