Allen continues from the Zenrin-kushu – “To have the sun and moon in one sleeve./ To hold the universe in the palm of one’s hand”
Then there’s a line by (W.B.) Yeats – “I carry the sun in a golden cup and the moon in a silver bag.”
“If you don’t get it from yourself,/Where will you go for it” – “If you don’t get it from yourself,/Where will you go for it – Where else will you go for it?”
Though we lean together on the same balustrade/ the colors of the mountain are not the same.”
“Taking up one blade of grass/ use it as a sixteen-foot golden Buddha” – That was Gary Snyder‘s favorite.
The blue hills are, of themselves, blue hills/ The white clouds are, of themselves, white clouds.”
“Nothing whatever is hidden/ From of old, all is clear as daylight.”
“Seeing, they see not./ Hearing, they hear not.”
“Just one pistil of the plum flower/ and the three thousand worlds are fragrant.”
“Every man has beneath his feet/ enough ground to do sitting meditation on” – “Every man has beneath his feet/ enough ground to do zazen on.”
“If you meet an enlightened man in the street/ don’t greet him with words, nor with silence.”
“The water before…” – [(this is the mind again)] – “The water before and the water after/now and forever flowing, following each other.
“There’s no place to seek the mind/ It’s like the footprints of birds in the sky.” – [(I always liked that)]
“Sitting quietly, doing nothing/Spring comes, grass grows of itself.”
“The mouth desires to speak/the words disappear.” – “The heart desires to associate itself but the thoughts fade away.”
“If you wish to know the road up the mountain/ go ask the man who goes back and forth on it.”
“Simply, you must empty “is” of meaning/ and not take “is not” as real.”
“The geese don’t wish to leave their reflection behind./ The water has no mind to retain their image.”
“The old tree leans over the waves, its cold image swaying/Mist hovers above the grass, the evening sun fading.”
“If you don’t believe, look at September, look at October,/ How the yellow leaves fall and fill mountain and river.”