A MARVELOUS THING

Breaking down the eternal darkness,
I walk alone in the deep sea.
Though things I could neither see nor know before reveal themselves,
none of them stand in my way.
How marvelous it is!
Though what are big, small, long or short before my eyes
provoke me to quarrels,
I am never caught up in any of them.

Though I, too idle, spend a while being friends with the quarrels,
never am I with them for long.

All flowing according to karma,
nothing special happens.
Leading a life doing nothing like an idiot for so long,
I've put down all of what was and what is.

A mind cow never loses its shape even if going into the sea,
and a wooden horse, walking out of a blast furnace, never loses its shape.
What is this principle?

What is seen before eyes is nothing but the Buddha.
"What is the Buddha?"
"He is sitting in the Dharma Hall."
"What is the Dharma Hall?"
"Hello."
"Yes, sir."
A good Dharma Hall collapses on itself. 

Written by Master Subul Sunim
Director of Anguk Zen Center and
Dongguk University's
International Seon Center
Translated by Boo Ahm
(Song Soo-kyong)