You were foreordained to find the source.
Now, tracing your way as in a dream
There where the sea floats up the sky,
You wane from the world in your fragile boat....
The water and the moon are as calm as your faith,
Fishes and dragons follow your chanting,
And the eye still watches beyond the horizon
The holy light of your single lantern.
Poem translator: Kiang Kanghu
上国随缘住，来途若梦行。
浮天沧海远，去世法舟轻。
水月通禅寂，鱼龙听梵声。
惟怜一灯影，万里眼中明。
Five-character-regular-verse
The poem's structure progresses clearly: the first two couplets describe the monk's study in China and return journey, while the latter two praise his spiritual cultivation. Buddhist imagery like "karma," "Dharma boat," "water-moon," "Sanskrit chants," and "single lamp" imbue the poem with Zen resonance, creating ethereal yet sacred atmosphere. The Japanese monk emerges as a holy, transcendent figure - in the poet's eyes, an exemplary Buddhist master surpassing mundane existence.
Classical Chinese poetry thrives on Concision and Ambiguity. Without tense or number, the words create a timeless space where the reader becomes the co-creator of the poem's meaning.
Look for Contrasts: light and shadow, movement and stillness. Don't just translate the words; feel the Yijing (artistic conception) that lingers long after the last character.
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