Thursday, May 20, 2010

The Human Route

Coming empty-handed, going empty-handed - that is human.

When you are born, where do you come from?

When you die, where do you go?

Life is like a floating cloud which appears.

Death is like a floating cloud which disappears.

The floating cloud itself originally does not exist.

Life and death, coming and going, are also like that.

But there is one thing which always remains clear.

It is pure and clear, not depending on life and death.


Then what is the one pure and clear thing?

-Zen Master Seung Sahn

1 comment:

yonkerNissan said...

Wonderful poem. Though I've seen at least two attributions on the internet. Would you happen to know if this was penned by Zen Master Seung Sahn or is it an 'ancient zen poem' as I saw it described elsewhere on the net?

Came across your sight during my research. Great blog, too!