Zen 96

with a sagely minded man who knows

  How to explain them, it will be as if we meet him

  Some morning or evening of the present days.

  26

  The Planet of Plants

  All grand and small plants

  On the planet Earth

  Emanate a sense

  Of the divine because

  Being deeply rooted in earth

  They seem to touch

  With their tops and crowns

  The core of the seventh roof

  Hidden beyond the violet skies.

  For this, it is completely alright

  To feel that we might pick up

  A great wisdom from the plants,

  Resorting to the yarrow stalks --

  The reliable agent of oracle.

  If we could only produce

  Their silent casting-out symbols

  And read them rightfully,

  We would succeed in discovering

  Some profound knowledge

  And secrets vital to our aims;

  Or even more specifically,

  Some revelations

  Vital to our daily activities,

  Our lasting spiritual experience

  And insightful foreseeing.

  27

  Filial Piety

  Among all things under the blue sky

  There are two warning considerations:

  One is requirement implanted in our bodies,

  Another is conviction of our minds

  About what is wrong and what is right.

  The love of a son for his parents, let me say,

  Is the implanted requirement and can never

  Be separated from his nature;

  The service of a manservant to his master

  Is what is right, and from its obligation

  There is no escaping anywhere in the space

  Between Heaven and Earth.

  So, a son finds his rest in serving his parents

  Without reference to or a choice of placement;

  And this is the height of filial duty.

  In the same way a manservant finds his rest

  In serving his master, without reference to

  Or a choice of the trade;--

  And this is the fullest discharge of fidelity.

  When men are simply obeying the wills of heart,

  The considerations of grief and joy

  Are not readily set before them. They know that

  There is no alternative to their acting as they do

  And rest in it as what is appointed;--

  And this is the highest achievement of virtue.

  He who is in a position of a manservant or

  Of a son has indeed to do what he cannot,

  But he somehow does. Occupied with a trade in hand

  And forgetful of his own self, what leisure

  Has he to think of his pleasure in living

  Or his dislike of death?

  What's more, let our mind find its enjoyment

  In the circumstances of our current situation;

  Nourish the central course, which we try to pursue

  By the reference to our unavoidable duties;--

  This is the highest object for us to pursue!

  What else can we do to fulfil the charge

  Of our good parents and our superiors

  If the latter are wise? The best thing we can do

  Is to be prepared to sacrifice our own selves;

  And this, you should know that,

  Is the most difficult thing to do properly,

  So long as we all make mistakes.

  28

  Diplomacy

  In all intercourse between the states,

  If they are located near to each other,

  There should be mutual friendliness

  Verified by mutually rewarding trades;

  If they are far apart, there must be

  Sincere adherence to truth in their messages.

  Those messages will be transmitted

  By their envoys. But to convey messages

  Which express the complacence

  Or dissatisfaction of two parties

  Is the most delicate issue to settle.

  If they be those of mutual complacence,

  There is sure to be an overflow

  Of expressions of satisfaction;

  If of mutual dissatisfaction -- an overflow

  Of expressions of dislike and discontent.

  But all extravagance leads to reckless language

  And such language fails to command belief.

  When this distrust arises, woe to the messenger!

  Hence the Protocol states, "Transmit the message

  Exactly as it stands; do not transmit it

  With any overflow of language; so is the envoy

  Likely to keep himself whole; and this is

  The essential point of what is called 'diplomacy.'

  29

  An Envoy and Duty

  The Rules for Delivering Speech,

  Article 3; Item 4, explicitly state,

  'Let not an envoy depart

  From his initial instructions. . .

  Let him not urge on a settlement.'

  If he goes beyond the regular rules,

  Also known as the Protocol,

  He will complicate the situation.

  Departing from one's instructions

  And urging on a settlement

  Imperils further negotiations.

  A good settlement is proved

  By its lasting long while a bad one

  Cannot be altered. In the wake

  Of the Rules, ought each and

  Every envoy not to be careful

  With one's precocious tongue? . .

  30

  A Tutor's Prediction

  Being about to undertake the job of a tutor

  Of the eldest son of one famously known tycoon,

  I first consulted with the divine Oracle,

  My trusted Big Brother and an Old Hand, in one,

  Which predicted me the following verdict:

  "He is one of the young men whose character

  Is bad as it could be. If you allow him

  To proceed in a bad way, it will be at the peril

  Of his entire family and the community as well;

  If you insist on his proceeding in a right way,

  It will indeed be at the peril of your own person.

  His mind is just sufficient to know the errors

  And faults of others, throwing stones at them,

  But he does not know how he errs himself."

  I asked, "What am I to do in such a case?"

  The Oracle said, "Good question indeed!

  Be on your guard; be careful all the time,

  See that you keep yourself clearly correct!

  Your best plan will be with your person

  To seek some associations with him

  And with your knowledge to try to be

  In harmony with his disposition and yet,

  There are dangers connected with both things.

  Seeking to keep near to him, you thus

  Do not enter his pursuits and yet,

  While cultivating a harmony of mind with him,

  Evade showing how much superior you are

  To him, and this is only for your own safety.

  If in your personal association with him

  You enter into his pursuits, you will fall

  And be ruined to tumble down with a crash."

  Then the Oracle added, "If in maintaining

  A harmony with his mind you show

  How different you are, he will think you do so

  For gaining your own prestige, and thus

  Regard you as a man of evil omen.

  If you find him to be a mere boy, be with him

  As another boy; if you find him one of those

  Who will not have their ground marked out

  In the ordinary way, do humour him
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  In the way of his likings; if you find him

  To be free from lofty airs, show yourself

  To be the same -- this way you will be able

  To lead him on so, as to keep him free

  From faults, killing two birds with one stone."

  31

  Survival of Virtue

  O people, under present-day conditions!

  How are your virtues degenerated!

  The future is not to be waited for;

  The past is not to be sought again.

  When order prevails in the world,

  The wise man tries to accomplish

  All his service within the time limit.

  When disorder prevails he preserves his life,

  Remaining in the shade for awhile.

  At the present time, it is enough

  If he simply escapes, being finished quickly.

  32

  Mahayana Blues

  If a man, who is only seeking for name

  And able to secure it this way,

  Can produce such an effect of superior person,

  How much more may we look for

  A greater result from one whose regulation

  Is over even that of Heaven and Earth

  And who holds his things in the Treasury House

  And who has his lodging in the four limbs

  And nine openings of his bodily stature,

  Whom his ears and eyes serve but

  As conveying all images of things and

  Their deeply hidden numeric symbols,

  Who comprehends all his knowledge

  And wisdom in the unity of opposites

  And whose mind is never worn-out or

  Over-flooded, even by chance?

  If such an idle man were to choose a day

  On which he would ascend far on high,

  All men would seek to follow him there

  For the sake of their own salvation. . .

  But how should he be willing

  To occupy himself with all those men?

  33

  My Orchard

  I will lie beneath

  My rare fruit trees

  And learn how,

  After producing a crop,

  They still make

  Long shades of daytime

  And a light rustle

  Throughout the night.

  34

  Pains and Penalties

  I have been told that when a mirror is bright,

  The dust and dirt do not rest on it so far;

  Otherwise, the mirror is not regarded as bright.

  When one dwells long with a man of virtue,

  He comes to be without faults himself.

  Most criminals, in describing their offences,

  Would make it out that they ought not

  To be punished for them; and only very few

  Would describe them so as to make it appear

  That they should not have escaped their penalty.

  When men stand before a skilful archer

  With his bow bent tightly, if they are

  In the field where they should surely be hit,

  And if they're not hit, that also is appointed goal.

  In a word, they are only the virtuous who know

  That their calamity has been an unavoidable thing,

  And hence rest in it as what is appointed for