[this poem was written by Shodo Kawabe, the monk I spent some time with in Hokkaido, Japan. It was done in calligraphy and hung on the wall of the room I slept in.]
Shodo’s Poem*
Language is hollow
like echoes of the molted shells of cicadas
at the end of summer.
The heart is the truth
like the stone at a mountain’s summit
tacit but heavy.
Forget language!
Cast your heart away!
Don’t perplex others,
By others, don’t be perplexed.
Make certain the truth:
my heart is the Buddha.
*written by Shodo Kawabe, translated (imperfectly) by Randy Otaka.
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