may as well let things go

29

A hundred years flash by

does anyone think this through

if what you're doing isn't clear

the edge between life and death is sheer

stitches on a monk's robe are a loving wife's tears

grains of sweet rice are an old farmer's fat

don't think charity has no reward

every seed bears fruit in time

30

Cares disappeared when I entered the mountains

serene at heart I let the world go

before my door the shade fades in fall

the spring roars in back after a rain

I offer tea and vegetables to a visiting farmer

to a neighbor monk I give chrysanthemums in a pot from town

the jaded life of the gentry

can't match a mountain monk's with scenes like these

31

This body's lifetime is like a bubble's

may as well let things go

plans and events seldom agree

who can step back doesn't worry

we blossom and fade like flowers

we gather and part like clouds

earthly thoughts I forgot long ago

withering away on a mountain peak

32

I've never treasured thoughts of success

I welcome old age and enjoy being free

grass shoes a bamboo staff the last month of spring

paper curtains plum blossoms daybreak dreams

eternal life and buddhahood are utter illusions

freedom from worry and care is the practice

last night the howling pine wind spoke

this is something the deaf can't hear

~ Stonehouse

translated by Red Pine

art by Huang Kung-wang a contemporary of 

Stonehouse who lived in the same area