October 27th, 2016

On Climbing the Highest Peak of Stone Gate

At dawn with staff in hand
I climbed the crags,
At dusk I made my camp
Among the mountains.
Only a few peaks rise
As high as this house,
Facing the crags,
It overlooks winding streams.
In front of its gates
A vast forest stretches.
While boulders are heaped
Round its very steps.
Hemmed in by mountains,
There seems no way out,
The track gets lost among
The thick bamboos.
Deep in meditation,
How can I part from Truth?
I cherish the Way
And never will swerve from it

Xie Lingyun (385–433)