“Strong” [Poetry Style #8] by Sikong Tu [w/ Audio]

Walk with a mind that's clear and unburdened, 
With life force that flares -n- flows like rainbows,
Traversing the witch's gorge through the mountains --
Among the floating clouds and blowing winds.
Drink up the spiritual; dine on the real;
Let them ever build up in your body.
Emulate the health and might of the gods,
Preserve your energy through harmony.
Be one with Heaven, be one with the Earth.
See in yourself divine transformations.
Know all this to the utmost -- be all this,
And hold on to it 'til the bitter end.

NOTE: The late Tang Dynasty poet, Sikong Tu (a.k.a. Ssŭ-k‘ung T‘u,) wrote an ars poetica entitled Twenty-Four Styles of Poetry. It presents twenty-four poems that are each in a different tone, reflecting varied concepts from Taoist philosophy and aesthetics. Above is a translation of the eighth of the twenty-four poems.

DAILY PHOTO: Inside Hualien Gangtiangong

“Concentrated” [Poetry Style #4] by Sikong Tu [w/ Audio]

Evergreen woods and a rough-hewn shack.
The sun sets through clear sky.
I shed my hat as I walk alone,
Listening for songbirds.
No wild geese are flying
From whence my beloved lives.
But in my mind, we are close --
Close enough to touch.
Dark clouds stand over the sea,
But in moonlight river isles gleam.
My eyes and my words stop at
That great river that sprawls ahead.

NOTE: The late Tang Dynasty poet, Sikong Tu (a.k.a. Ssŭ-k‘ung T‘u,) wrote an ars poetica entitled Twenty-Four Styles of Poetry. It presents twenty-four poems that are each in a different tone, reflecting varied concepts from Taoist philosophy and aesthetics. Above is a translation of the fourth of the twenty-four poems.

A Taipei Taoist’s Limerick

There once was a Taoist from Taipei,
Who knew all one could know of the Way.
When asked for directions,
He'd state his objections,
"The way that can be stated is not The Way."

“Placid” [Poetry Style #2] by Sikong Tu [w/ Audio]

It thrives in silence and with calm --
ephemeral and gossamer.
It's ever-flowing harmony,
gliding with a solitary crane,
wisping like the gentle breezes
that rustle and billow one's robe,
trilling softly like a bamboo flute.
How does one become one with it?
A chance meeting, lucked into, but
don't lunge forward, or it'll vanish.
When you think it's attainable,
it twists in your hand and is gone.

NOTE: The late Tang Dynasty poet, Sikong Tu (a.k.a. Ssŭ-k‘ung T‘u,) wrote an ars poetica entitled Twenty-Four Styles of Poetry. It presents twenty-four poems that are each in a different tone, reflecting varied concepts from Taoist philosophy and aesthetics. Above is a translation of the second of the twenty-four poems.

Five Wise Lines (March 2024)

We are pattern seekers, believers in a coherent world, in which regularities appear not by accident but as a result of mechanical causality or someone’s intention.

Daniel kahneman; Thinking, Fast and slow

If you win, do not boast of your victory; if you lose, do not be discouraged. When it is safe, do not become careless; when it is dangerous, do not fear. Simply continue down the path ahead.

Kanō Jigorō; Founder of Jūdō

A writer makes new life in the void, knocks on silence to make a sound, binds space and time on a sheet of silk and pours out a river from an inch-sized heart.

Lu Ji; Wen Fu (261 – 303)

The worst kind of Virtue never stops striving for Virtue, and so never achieves Virtue.

Laozi

Moonlight floods the whole sky from horizon to horizon. // How much it can fill your room depends on its windows.

Rumi

“On Laozi” by Bai Juyi [w/ Audio]

"The ignorant speak, while the wise keep silent."
I read the words of Laozi.
But if Laozi knew the Way,
Why did he write those five thousand characters?

Yielding to the Flow [Free Verse]

A slender leaf
floats downstream.

Its tip touches
a stouter leaf,
sending the
slender leaf
spinning.

The leaf continues to
twist as it drifts,

Making it seem spastic,
but it neither rushes
nor dawdles.

It matches the flow,
letting gravity &
currents do all the work.

It races only when it
plunges through
a narrow channel,

But it downshifts just as
effortlessly as the
stream widens.

The leaf's action is
unforced, yielding to
energy imparted upon it.

DAILY PHOTO: Qingshan & Qingshui Temples, Taipei

Bangka Qingshan Temple (Taoist)
Qingshui Temple (Buddhist)

DAILY PHOTO: Wanxing Temple, Kaohsiung