VERSES OF A ZENIST
After the teisho on February 11, 1995,
at the Zen Community of New York
The truth
what is the truth
you tell me
Baisen Tetsugen said
On the Hudson River
white birds float by
standing on broken pieces of ice
taking in a certain warmth
The sun is hanging out to dry
as content as a cow in a temple
Like a dreaming statue
strolling on the Dharma shore
I say
the truth is now
A question, a request and a sufi song
for Taizan Maezumi, roshi
Well, roshi, you asked for questions
after zazen and your Dharma talk
and just then sensei had to leave
and at the door,
or Gate,
was the Buddha as he laughing said:
"You may ask him some hard ones!"
Is change the shadow of the changeless?
Is change the shadow of the changeless?
This is my question
and with it comes a request: please
give me this koan, roshi
and please accept
my sufi song
my grateful song
my modest offering
to you
Am I Change dreaming of the changeless
or am I the Changeless dreaming of change?
Am I Change dreaming of the changeless
or am I the Changeless dreaming of change?
Thank you for your teachings,
dear Sir
Yonkers, New York, 1995, at the Zen Community of New York
Three haikus
One
Today is Sunday
Shadows lie down in the streets
and gaze at the blue
Two
The sky is on fire
Doesn’t anyone notice
the white smoke of clouds
Three
The sound of one hand
waving farewell from the wharf
as the water grows
México-Tenochtitlan, 2000
Mariano Sánchez-Ventura