Message for the faithful

Here's a message for the faithful
what is it that you cherish
to find the Way to see your nature
your nature is naturally so
what Heaven bestows is perfect
looking for proof leads you astray
leaving the trunk to search among the twigs
all you get is stupid--Han-shan, 9th century Chinese poet

Cold Mountain poetry break

If I hide out at Cold Mountain
Living off mountain plants and berries -
All my lifetime, why worry?
One follows his karma through.
Days and months slip by like water,
Time is like sparks knocked off flint.
Go ahead and let the world change -
I'm happy to sit among these cliffs.

Han Shan, legendary Chinese Tang Dynasty poet, translated by Gary Snyder

Climbing up the Cold Mountain

Clambering up the Cold Mountain path,

The Cold Mountain trail goes on and on:

The long gorge choked with scree and boulders,

The wide creek, the mist-blurred grass.

The moss is slippery, though there's been no rain

The pine sings, but there's no wind.

Who can leap the world's ties

And sit with me among the white clouds?--

HanShan, legendary Chinese poet said to have lived in the Tang Dynasty (618-907). Translation by Gary Snyder

GOAT ROPE ADVISORY LEVEL: MOUNTAINOUS