A SUDDEN FLASH OF LIGHTNING Words out of Silence

published by International Zen Institute of America Copyright @ by International Zen Institute of America, 1983 Printed in the United States

For further Information, please address: SUDDEN FLASH OF LIGHTNING c/o IZIA 928 So. New Hampshire Avenue Los Angeles, California 90006

A SUDDEN FLASH OF LIGHTNING Words Out of Silence

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We are grateful to those persons who have contributed to the realization of A SUDDENFLASH OF LIGHTNING, words out of Silence

Rev. Karuna Dharma Prof. Pham Cong Thien Jenny Hoang

We especially want to thank Helen and Vo Dinh for their generous help in preparing thelovely drawings for this collection of poems

And Zen Center of Los Angeles for the excerpt from GATELESS GATE. Centerpublication. 1979

Second Edition 2006

IT was such a delightful surprise for me whenUdaka Hogen, my old disciple's student, sent herdelegation from the Netherlands to visit me at theVietnam Buddhist Temple in Los Angeles during therecent New Year. The delegation informed me thatthere are currently more than 22 Buddhist centersfollowing the Rinzai tradition in the Netherlands. Thatnews, like a candle, warmed me up amidst the coldwinter of America and called to mind my old disciple,Ven. Gesshin Myoko Midwer, who passed away in LosAngeles on May 24, 1999. The memory of our pastDharma-relationship caused me to compose a Koan,which was in fact my gentle response to the delegation.The Koan was first written in Vietnamese as follows:

Thaày böôùc bieát ñeán bao giôø tôùi ?

Nhaát nieäm ñi theo boùng ngaû daøi

Ñaèng kia thaáy Phaät ñang ñöùng ñôïi

Taát caû cuøng veà vôùi Nhö Lai.

The master steps forward, who knows whencehis destination?One mindful thought follows a long stretchingshadowBehold, the standing Buddha is beckoningWe all come home for the union with theTathagata.

When I wrote this Koan, I thought of the Rinzaitradition in Europe and particularly of the contributionby my old disciple to the propagation of Buddhism inthe Netherlands. Her students' visit silently remindedme of her beautiful life and of the steps of Rinzai,which she had followed, and her followers still performeven here and now.

In 1983, Ven. Gesshin Myoko Midwer and Ipublished our first book of poetry, A Sudden Flash ofLightning-Words Out of Silence. This year, 2006, oneof her Zen student groups in Europe asked me toreprint this book to commemorate its twenty-thirdanniversary.

As mentioned in the first edition, this book ofpoetry is the "encounter of the hearts" and the "meetingof the hearts" between us.

The fact is that in 1981, I bestowed upon Ven.Gesshin Myoko Midwer the "Great Dharma SealTransmission, since then she became Prabhasa Dharma,the 45th generational heir of the Vietnamese Lam Te(Rinzai) Zen Lineage. Though she was born inGermany her spirit had grown up in the VietnameseZen-garden and in the heat of zen, we both met eachother.

Twenty-three years have passed, yet the youngBuddhists of this generation in Europe still recall thespiritual journey of their Master; it really is a great joyfor us. To share this great joy and happiness with you,

I once again humbly present A Sudden Flash ofLightning, with the hope that the vibrancy from WordsOut of Silence will usher you into these moments ofgreat tranquillity.

Los Angeles, Spring 2006

Most Ven. Thich Man Giac, Ph.D.

INTRODUCTION

It gives me great joy to introduce to you this slenderbook of poetry. It is a unique collection of poems, thestatement of two poets and Buddhist Masters who comefrom disparate backgrounds. Gesshin Myoko is a womanborn in Germany, an American citizen for twenty-sevenyears. Thich Man Giac is a man born in Vietnam, a refugeein the United States for only five years. They come fromopposite sides of the world and their poetic styles mirrorthis difference. Yet their poetic encounter in Los Angeles isa richly fulfilling one and this book reveals that " encounterof the heart ".

Their writings complement each other, Thich ManGiac's lyrical romanticism of the Orient and Gesshin

Myoko's stark mystical realism of the modern West. Yet intheir own styles they speak the same language. Theirs is thewriting of experience from years of a meditative practice,the direct looking at Reality the way it is.

The Great Silence of the Zen Master is a key note toboth of these poets, the non-separation of the poet from theexperience, the total immersion in the moment. And fromthis depth of silence comes the flash of lightning — a brightand pure image, revealing to the reader the Truth of life.

If carefully listened to, the poems reveal the intensealoneness of One who Treads the Path, the solitary sage,complete because never separate from life, yet feelingalways the utter loneliness of human destiny.

Here is the Great Compassionate Heart, the totalacceptance of all experience, the surrender into the moment,the range of emotion from laughter to tears, direct anduninhibited in Thich Man Giac, restrained and subdued inGesshin Myoko.

Their poetry is basically a poetry of images. To thereader new to Zen these images project the very essence ofZen itself - the every day common experience, its surrenderto the moment and its flash of brilliance as the poet " sees" reality and the peace that comes with this realization.

To the reader who has a deeper understanding ofBuddhism and a keener ear to poetry, the symbols plungeone into depths of meaning, revealing the truth that 'themost profound experiences can be expressed best in simplewords.

Thich Man Giac entered the Buddhist monasterymore than forty years ago at the tender age of eleven. He isa master of the Lieu Quan (Rinzai Zen) tradition ofVietnam. A well known poet in Vietnam, writing under thename of Huyen Khong, Thich Man Giac was also famed asan educator and philosopher. A professor at the prestigiousUniversity of Saigon, he also was Dean at Van HanhBuddhist University.

In 1977 he escaped from Vietnam by fishing boatand settled near his lifetime friend, Thich Thien An, the lateVietnamese Zen Master of Los Angeles. Today Thich ManGiac is the Supreme Abbot of the Vietnamese BuddhistTemple in Los Angeles and spiritual leader of 90,000Vietnamese Buddhists in the United States and abroad.

His poetry reveals his selflessness and his humor, hishumanness, tenderness and compassion for all life, a manwhose writing breaks through cultural barriers and capturesthe heart.

Gesshin Myoko Midwer has trained intensively as a

Zen monk for fifteen years under Rinzai Zen Masters bothin the United States and Japan. She has been the director ofseveral different Zen monasteries in the United States andis the founder of the International Zen Institute of America.She is a spiritual teacher well known in both the UnitedStates and Europe and travels frequently about the Westernhemisphere to give lectures, seminars and Zen retreats. Sheis also actively involved in ecumenical dialogue and intraining non-Buddhist priests and ministers in meditation.

She is a poet, an artist, a Zen master, a highlyspiritual being whose essence is serenity and tenderness, herlife a poem itself. As a teacher she speaks directly andeffectively to the hearts of Westerners. Hers is not a Zencaught in any cultural mode, but is rather a transformationof the very essence of Zen into a form understandable tomodem America.

It is in humility that I present these two great poetsto you with the prayer that they will touch in you thatmeditative awareness and penetrating insight which theypossess and that their words which flare from silence willcreate in you that sudden flash of lightning.

TAIZAN MAEZUMI ROSHIZen Center of Los Angeles

September 1983

FOREWORD

I celebrate myself, and sing myself,And what I assume you shall assume,For every atom belonging to me as good belong to you.

Walt Whitman Song of Myself

It is a wondrous experience for me to open a book of poetryand find myself suddenly in another place, another moment.Gone is the leaden heat, the traffic noise, the cares andworries that nag. Suddenly I am in another reality, anotherworld, offering grains of rice to crowds of pigeons andseeing the moon reflected in the puddles of yesterday's rain.Such is the magic of A Sudden Flash of Lightning, thatmarvelous book of images and emotions that illuminate lifein a sudden blaze.

It is prophetic that these two great poets who come fromopposite sides of the earth, Thich Man Giac from Vietnam,

Gesshin Myoko Midwer from Germany, should meet in LosAngeles, the richest center of Buddhism study and practicein the United States. For they are not only poets, they arealso Buddhist Masters and their poetry vividly reveals theirspiritual experience.

Theirs is a vibrant and alive poetry, the direct experiencesof the Zen Master who revels in life, whose word;

express the inexpressible, who brings the reader to lookdirectly at life with first hand experience.

The emotions evoked by Thich Man Giac and the image;painted by Gesshin Myoko touch this reader at the very coreof being. They pass Robert Frosts test of the great poem,that when first read, the reader knows he can never forgetit.

How can one forget the terrible pain of Remembering whenThich Man Giac writes of his separation from his closestfriendI came to visit you today and find only dry leaves covering the ground where I walk or the solitary wanderer's loneliness So vast is the Way So vast is my path Crossed only by yellow butterflies

How can one forget the images of Gesshin Myoko, at times

fragile and delicate

in its breathwinterknits

a white spider at times raw and biting

a catcold eyes of wind

tears a sunflowerfrom the robin's throat

These images and the emotions they evoke remain longafter the words are lost from consciousness.

It is easy to see the differences in their poetry, for theirpoetic approaches have been shaped by the cultures inwhich they lived. Nonetheless, the reader should not bemisled by the obvious differences between Asian andWestern expression. For their poetry shares a similar coreof experience.

Thich Man Giac entered the monastery as a young boy,receiving a classical Chinese and Vietnamese education.Gesshin Myoko Midwer was shaped by traditional Germanschooling. Both systems were demanding, disciplined andinsular. And both poets recall with glee their childishnaughtiness, their refusal to complacent acceptance.Gesshin remembers that even as a child she saw lifedifferently from others around her, that she led a Zen life

years before she had ever heard the word Zen, that whenshe first encountered Asian culture and thought, sheimmediately steeped herself in it.

Thich Man Giac grew up in a Vietnamese culture greatlymodified by the French. Saigon was the most European ofthe Asian cities, a marvelous blend of Chinese, Vietnameseand French. From early childhood Thich Man Giac has beenfascinated by Western thought and has read widely anddeeply Western philosophy and literature.

They both lived through the terrible experiences of war incountries ravaged and conquered, she in Germany in WorldWar II and he in Vietnam during the French, the Japaneseand the civil wars.

And they trained hard in spiritual practice, devotingthemselves totally to the quest for truth.

While. Japanese and Vietnamese Zen are very similar andmuch of the practice is the same, (both Gesshin and ThichMan Giac trained in a Zen developed from the Lin Chi[Rinzai ] Zen of China) there is a marked difference in oneaspect. Japanese Zen is marked by its sternness in its searchfor wisdom, Vietnamese Zen by its emphasis uponcompassion. And these different approaches are reflected intheir poetry.

Thich Man Giac's poetry is softer and gentler, more

romantic and emotional. Gesshin's poetry is more stridentand harsh, more directly confronting. Still, both of thesepoetic approaches arise from the same source, from thatspiritual wisdom that is the essence of the Zen Master'sexperience and the poetic vision that expressed thatexperience in words. The words are different, th essence isthe same.

Thich Man Giac's poetry is always a hymn to the humanheart, undaunted by tragedy and awesome trauma. It is easyto forget that his is a life shaped by war am inexpressiblehuman suffering-so serene, so loving, so open are hispoems.

Each morning the pigeons comeTo beg for food before the templeI am always presentIn silence no word at all

Thich Man Giac's poetry is frequently lyrical and oftenemotional. He is concerned with the deepest of humanemotions. The symbols of life and death and pain ofseparation are vividly invoked in his very simply state ofLeaving. The death of the sage, revealed by th(footprints inthe sand and the passing clouds, creates 2 desert of life forthe watcher; yet his very dealing reaffirms life in themetaphor of the boat leaving the shore and sailing into thegreat ocean.

Feelings of grief and pain haunt the poem Remembering MyFriend. As the poet sits in the temple garden awaiting thepresence of his dead friend he asks the flowers how theycan continue to bloom while dead leaves litter the ground inmemory of the Master. Ev as the memories of life andfriendship bring pain ] awakens from his 4t dream " torealize that " the sta and moon are forever bright ". Theconflict between the pain of the present and the realizationof the ultimate resolved by the Zen understanding that beingand no being, form and emptiness are one.

Thich Man Giac's poems confront the very essence I Zen asthe poet confronts illusion and reality. In the poemAwakened the Zen Master awakes from a drear The act oflooking at his fingers brings a flash of enlightenment and helaughs at illusion. The reality of the moment brings utterrelease as 4t The moon fills the verandah.”

This constant transformation of illusion into the reality ofthe moment of experience is repeated in The LonelyTraveler and The Last Tear.

The great question of identity, recalling the Koan " Whatwas your original face before you were born " ] a frequenttheme in Thich Man Giac's poems, whether stated overtlyin his poem Vagrancy when he asks

Who sits on the wooden step

Watching the wandering ants of implied as in Chanting the Tripitaka Sutra or The LonelyTraveler.

The eternal enigma of awakening is revealed again andagain as the poet greets each experience with vigor. Fromthe depths of the forlorn cry of the human heart to theecstatic reveling in the dawn, Thich Man Giac's poemsspeak directly to the reader.

Hey! When did the Spring come ?I heard the flowers bloom and the sound startled meAn extra shirt over my shoulder, I greet the morningThis Universe never ceases to be pureAnd forever anew at every moment

Gesshin Myoko's poetry is highly personal and enigmatic,the images unusual, troubling, their starkness a constantreminder of life's ephemeralness.

In the tall grass the news folded and fading with each day the afterbirth bending to the windCortege

Her images are simple and sharp - suspended animation ina moment that never ends. Yet at the same time they arefrequently mystical, for she paints exactly as her eye hasseen, in an uncommon, unblinking eternity

the sun is on its way and upthe hill the road

leaves dandelions in a treeRegrets of Not Having Longer Tenurefrom the black of your hair the mountains walk homethrough waves of brown eye susans For a Korean Princess Becoming of Age

Generally less romantic and more starkly realistic thanThich Man Giac," Gesshin Myoko's poetry can also belawful as in

Laughing and running the children snatch it away the old nun's chanting or serene and peaceful as in Lull in the Storm a seagull flies through the rainbow wind and the doorunhinged shadow chrysanthemums in the distance

At times she drops her stark realism and her poetry soarsinto song.

as his index finger closes the lid of my left eyea thousand suns spring to light the moth of his hand flies upward over mountains Among Events

While Gesshin ‘s poetry can be read on an imagiatic level

only, those images are the vehicle to reveal truth andspiritual attainment.

The Buddhist understanding of interpenetrating and non-duality of opposites is manifested in Gesprach, PoeticDialogue, as two speakers, one German, the otherAmerican, initially describe the differences between theNorth Sea and the Pacific Ocean, but then perceive theirsameness.

The graphic juxtaposition of images in Milk and Matchesillustrates the conflicting attitudes of a busy, mundanedaily life.

bells and cashregister the minutes their whole livesin high gloss

with the gentle quiet of spiritual realization

hands still tender with seedtake their voices by the leash sayingwe possess nothing

The title itself hints that the poem concerns enlightenment,for milk is both the sustenance of human life and thesymbol for compassion, while matches contain the latentenergy which when struck flare into flame, the symbol ofilluminating wisdom.

At first reading. Two Monks Roll Up The Screen presents

the reader with three unrelated, but striking images. Whenone realizes that in her training Gesshin solved the forty-eight koans of the Gateless Gate, the Mumonkan, the poemsuddenly becomes the answer to the twenty-sixth koan. Theimage of two monks in robes wet from dew as they crossthe grass to put away their bedding becomes the struggle ofthe monk koan, who must throw away all useless baggageto ei the gateless gate of enlightenment. The reflectionbreaking waves becomes the mad wanderings of mindwhich reverses itself and calms. The dog i affectionatelylicks the poet's empty hand answers b the question, " Whichone has gained and which one lost ? " and Mumon'scomment about the tight fist.

She writes of the euphoria of mystical experience in a poemnamed simply Among Events, while at the sa time her haikurecords daily life of the monastery wh every moment is thetotality, where the mundane itself is sublime when totallyexperienced.

This book of poetry is not for the timid, for peo afraid toexperience life. Rather it is a reaffirmation faith in theperfection of things as they are. It is 1 recognition of thenon-knowledge of separateness a the awareness of non-duality when Gesshin Myo states

I do not know any longerwhether it is You or Ithat speaks or when Thich Man Giac saysfor thousands of yearswe have never stopped being

This collection of poems is the encounter of two GreatHearts, the poetic encounter of the Pacific with the Nordseein the spirit of silence, from which words flare sudden flashof lightening and then return back to original state ofemptiness.

KARUNA DHARMA

International Buddhist Meditation Center September1983

KOAN 26 TWO MONKS ROLL UP THE BLINDS

THE CASE

A monk once went to Daihogen of Seiryo before themidday meal to ask for instruction. Gen pointed to thebamboo blinds with his hand. At that moment, two monkswent over to the blinds and rolled them up in an identicalmanner. Gen said, " One has gained, one has lost. "

MUMON'S COMMENTARY

Just tell me, which one has gained and which one has lost?If you have one eye opened concerning this point, you willknow where National Teacher Seiryo failed. Nevertheless,you should not inqurie into this problem In connection withgain or loss.

THE VERSE

When the blind is rolled up, brightness and clarity

penetrate the great empty space, fet the great empty sapceis still not according to the principle of our sect;

It is far better to throw away emptiness and everything

completely, md with a tight fist, never let the wind pass

through.

15

16

PRESENTATION

As a spiritual leader Ven. Gesshin Myoko is, of course, very well-known in the United States and inEurope, yet she is scarcely known as a poet.

Gesshin Myoko is one of the most original and distinguished American poets of our age ; she haswritten beautiful poems of great mystical subtlety and others of strange and uncommon awareness.

My first meeting with her is one of the most unforgettable events in my spiritual life ; she possesseswhat are the most essential characteristics of the person of spiritual endowment: a silent repose, adeep-rooted and mature personality, a solid sense of humour, an inner creative relationship with allbeing and the capacity to grow without any deliberate striving or self-consciousness. And when I readher poems I find in them the mountaintop where I can look down on the moon and the stars, and thesurge of the mysterious sea.

As a poet she stands apart, with the breezes of timelessness playing about her. Her work reflects aninner simplicity, a great compassion, an unmovable serenity and an intense devotion to that which isforever pure and intact.

Much by way of gratitude could be said about my meeting with Ven. Gesshin Myoko. I hope that thereaders will find here in her poems what I have tried in vain to describe in this humble presentation.

THICH MAN GIAC

17

TWO MONKS ROLL UP THE SCREEN

In wet robes they arrive at the glass wall and collapse with their old bedding

at their mirror the waves reverse their speech and lay aside the broken gifts

one ly one comes sideways and licks the empty hand

18

THE FIVE STEPS

a mantle of asterscovers the earth

at the rivere’s rdge the sky us saddled with drink

a cat cold eyes of wind

tears a sunflower from the robin’s throat

(dampness surrounds me)

dark fish cross the crimson pattern

in its breath winter knitts a white spider

19

NOVEMBER at dawn those portraits open their gates

The palest one attives first eating a seed from my hand telling me there will be others

this voyage of snails balancing small tanks of darkness

the stubble field the coolness of high trees the missa solemnis

a yellow wet leaf flat againstthe unhabited window

what names shall I give you tha rise and sing in your portraits of wind

20

21

LULL IN THE STORM a seagull flies through the rainbow wind and the door unhinged shadow chrysanthemums in the distances

THE STRAW HUT I follow the sound of water

it all comes to me when I look at what is

trees and leaves falling on leaves

22

MILK AND MATCHES

Sunlight

folding and unfolding its wing its blessings a bird has fallen to its emptiness feather bury the wind in the forest

the old photographs stir under their covers

men carrying sponges rto the slatethrough a neighbourhood of wedding cakes and for the third timetoss coin into the mouth of the savior

bells and cash register the minutes their whole lives in high gloss

hangs still tender with seedtake their voices by the leash saying we possess nothing

darkness has fallen from the sleeves of the flute

23

CORTEGE

I go there often at noon to sit in this maternity of bellies next to silence that empty bottle

someone close has passed away

I feel no loss the sun gathers its light and sink to another place

you would say I did not love him that there should be signs darkness sitting on the scale

I was toubled by this and how to let go

the path has come with its bits of tar and weeds learning on the south

un the tall grass the news folded and fading with each day the afterbirth bending to the wind

24

FOR A KOREAN PRINCESS BECOMING OF AGE

Up this road into the clouds we stopped you ran from the car and back to hug me as if you has found it the kingdom you were promised at your gradle and I wonder If they had told you then

you would reign up here among clouds this withered branch for a scepter trading silks for denim and an uncertain number of years for this moment as you stand

in your body twohundredandsixteen moons a blade of grass

against the rugged mountainsa dew drop in the wind

as skies bend lowto fill your pockets with clouds your laughter a chower of silver coins falling into the darkness of a cave

WHO AM I A huge black dly saws minutes unto a puzzle chains of knowledge are draggings their feet

WHO AM I This whirring among manzanitas a pair of birds tucking their wings up into the wind and with the bow of a viloin cut accross the sum of strings at one they areairborn nolongerbirdnor wind

25

neither flyingnorstandongstilltakingyour eyesupovermountainsand skyto theroots ofcloudsfrom wherewe are

born into thisneighborhood of stones as the sun gathers its rays from the black of your hair the mountains walk home through waves of brown-eyed susans

darkness mends us to the empty spaces

26

27

Though up faint of its own the Camelia in full moon falls off the branch

Eating rice gruel in the old temple kitchen dusk takes half of it

This winter morning the moon is caught in the eyes Of yesterday’s rain

Brillinatly alone in the sky of Nevada now clouds, now moon

28

AMONG EVENTS

Off to one side someone has left stones carefully attanged tp the wind

a door opens in the dark voices

The priest does not think it strange what I am here They have been waiting he says he knows me

as his index fingercross the lid of my left eyea thousand sins spring to light the moth of his hand flies upward over mountains the spaces the light tadiant as I become light without a body step forward without words on all sides light unbroken speak

When I finish they remain they know the sun leaping from the grills of a bass caught in the line eo wheere a shoe hasfallen with the avalanche anf the mouse

ants fill the shadow of a crow for a moment I return to my body my clothes are dropped to me from a great height

29

in the morning fog the voices of three women one sleeping one singing in the shower one meditating

THERE IS ALL THERE IS The wind

twojarsof honey

the flight of the pelican.

30

THE

BROWN

POT

Black dog clack chair

In a garden by the willow sits a grey lady knitting a never ending cloud

31

REGRET OF NOT HAVING LONGER TENURE

The sun is on its way and up the hill the road leaves dandelions in a tree

it is a dry morning the light glints off the bare branches

my neighbor in her white hair rakes through what is older in me

CONTINUUM

Life is a day

a passage

Through green where lights is

more certain

than leaves

32

33

To Thich Man Giac

A sudden flash of lightning fills the whole kitchen with onion sprouts

Winter evening a flash of lightning fills the kitchen with onion sprouts

High noon the new temple gate is hung between moon and almond blossoms

34

Maple trees blinking on and off they fool me cars, planes fireflies

Neither good nor bad the hobney that tots my tooth

The mosquito on my nose I wonder how she will spend my blood

Hey little spider have you seen the penny I lost this morning

35

With his stick the Master expiunds the Dharma dock dock dock dock dock

Laughing and running the children snatch it away the old nun’s chanting

Locking the temple gate a cat jumps over

36

GESPRACH

die Nortseeduester und weit

how different the Pacific

grau schaeumemend wild die eine

Blue green rolling the other

du oder ich

I do not know any longer whether it is you or I that speaks

37

38

PRESENTATION

Meeting the most Ven. Dr. THlCH MAN GIAC, a great Dharma Master and poet, is not onlymeeting a fellow Buddhist monk on the path, but more than that it is a meeting of the hearts.

When Ven. THlCH MAN GIAC began his training in a Vietnamese Buddhist monastery at age12, he embarked on a long journey of cultivating compassion and loving kindness for all livingthings. In his poems we are invited to enter that vast silence, where at the edge of dawn pigeonslaconically pick grains of rice from his outstretched hand, the hand that endlessly gives each vastnew day. Surrender to the moment and the ensuing peace of mind are the marks of this specialheart and the gift of the poet to us.

I am very grateful to Ven. THlCH MAN GIAC for sharing that most exquisite silence withus.

GESSHIN MYOKO

39

CAÂY TUØNG Caây tuøng naêm laâm tuoåi treân ñaàu laù coøn xanh Thieàn sö giaø caèn coåi Moâi nôû nuï cöôøi laønh

THE PINE TREE A fifty five year old pine tree the needles still young on top admist the wrinkles the old monk’s lips open to a gentle smile

40

THÖÙC TÆNH

Khuya nay vöøa tænh moäng Ta cöôøi ñeám ngoùn tay OÂ, mình laø vang boùng ngoaøi hieân traêng saùng ñaày

AWAKENED

Awakened from a dream in the middle of the night looking at my hand, counting the fingers I burst our laughing what an illusion all that is ! The moon had filled up the verandah.

XUAN MÔÙI

OÂ hay xuaân ñeán bao giôø nhæ ‘Nghe tieáng hoa khai boång giaät mình Saùng nay thöùc daäy choaøng theâm aùo Vuõ truï muoân ñôøi vaãn môùi tinh

SPRING Hey ! When did spring come ? I heard the flowers bloom and the sound startled me an extra shirt over my shoulder, I greet the morning this Universe never cease to be pure and forever anew at every moment

41

THIEÀN SÖ

Thieàn sö ñi treân ñöôøng Aùo roäng ñaày tình thöông Thôøi gian khoâng níu laïi cöôøi vang suoát ñeâm tröôøng

THE ZEN MASTER To Gesshin Myoro

The Master walks down the road an oversized robe carries only compassion time has no hold on her who filled the night with laughter

42

BÖÔÙC ÑI

Daáu chaân in maët caùt Ngöôøi ñi maây troâng theo Cuoäc ñôøi laø sa maïc Bieån ñôøi thuyeàn nhoå neo

LEAVING For Karuna

footprints on the sand the clouds watch me pass by Life is a desert and at sea the boat pulls up its anchor

43

TUÏNG KINH

Môû ra Tam taïng Kinh Ta ngoài ñoïc moät mình Traêng sao soi töøng chöõ Giöõa ñaát trôøi laëng thinh

CHANTING THE TRIPITAKA SUTRA

all by myself I read the the Sutra aloud the moon and stars are my company lighting yp each word while Heaven and Earth hold their breath

44

NHÔÙ NGÖÔØI

Traàm höông thoaùng laïi töø ñaâu Loøng nghe taát caû tieáng caàu nguyeän xöa Chuoâng ngaân voïng ñeán bao giôø laù vaøng ruïng xuoáng thaûnh thi7 nhôù ngöôøi

Veà ñaây nhöõng laù hoa rôi Vöôøn xöa, loái cuõ boùng Ngöôøi quanh ñaây Thaùp Chuoâng vaãn ôû choã naøy Ñoåi thay thay ñoåi trong ngaây ngaát buoàn

Ai veà giöõa boùng hoaøng hoân Ñeå nghe xao xuyeán maõu doàn daäp ñau Nhôù thöông xin giöõ troïn maøy Ñaïo tình muoân thöûo mai sau vaãn coøn

Ngaøy xöa voán nghieäp coâ ñôn Ñaàu tai hoùa böôùm bay vôøn laù hoa Trong côn moäng mò Ta baø Tieáng Chuoâng gôïi nhôù aâm ba thöûô naøo

Chieàu veà laïy giaác chieâm bao Tænh ra môùi bieát traêng sao daùng hoaøi Chieàu nay ñai ñeán thaêm ai Laù vaøng ruïng xuoáng naèm daøi loái ñi

Mai sau coøn coù nghóa gì Ñoát loø höông nguyeän xin ghi taâm naøy “ Saéc khoâng töï taïi “ naøo hay Traàn gian coøn ñôïi baøn tay ñoä ngöôøi

Los Angeles thaùng 11 naêm 1982

45

REMEMBERING MY FRIEND THICH THIEN AN

from somewhere prayers suddenly return to metogether with the fragrance of sandalwood incense burningthe sound of bells lingers stilldead leaves fall into poems for youwhere do the flower petals go ?

are you here ? in this old garden ?in these familiar lanes ?the belltower remains here stillyet I feel the change where did you go ?as twilight come do you feel the pain that beats in my heart ?our love remains forever through time

aloneness has been my karma since:a butterfly among the flowers and plants in a worldly dream, a sound of bell brings me back to the " neige d'antan " awakening from the dream I realize the stars and moon are forever bright even when not seen

I come to visit you and find onlydry leaves covering the ground where I walktalking of the future makes no sensethe smoking incense reveals my feelings and dreamsfew understand that form and empiness is the wayeveryone awaits your coming again

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BAØN TAY

Baøn tay ta ñöa ra Gaõo ñaày trong loøng aáy Boà caâu vöøa troâng thaáy Chuùng bay laïi haøng sa

THE HAND

I strecht out my palm full of grains of rice pigeon come in large crwods like sand from the Ganges

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MALIBU BEACH

you sit on a rock watching the waves surge one after another without end while I sit near youfor thousand of years we have never stopped being

July 21, 1983

MALIBU

And ngoài treân phieán ña Soùng n nhuùt ngaøn daâng Toâi ngoài beân caïnh ñoù Ngaøn naêm chöa döøng chaân

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BOÀ CAÂU

Moãi saùng Boà caâu ñeán Tröôùc maét cuøa ñoøi aên Laø giôø ta xuaát hieän Im lìm khoâng noùi naêng

THE PIGEONS

each morning when the pigeons come to beg for food before the temple I am there In silence saying nothing

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KEÛ LÖÕ HAØNH COÂ ÑOÄC

Vuõ truï hoàn thaêm thaúm ñoùng kín töø sô sinh mô maøng theo naêm thaùng luoân luoân vaãn moät mình

Theá giôùi laø con ñöôøng ñi leân cao ñaày doác ai ñi tìm queâ höông ? - Keû löõ haønh coâ ñoäc

Con chim traéng ñoäc haønh Giöõa trôøi xanh bieån xanh Hoa hoàng vöøa heù nôû Hai tay daâng chaân thaønh

Moät mình vaø moät boùng Cung caùnh bay vaøo ñôøi Ñaát trôøi ñang troâng ngoùng Hieân ngang boùng maët trôøi

Thì gian ñi veà ñaâu Traêng sao ñaày nhieäm maàu taâm linh rôøi beán moäng Yeân laëng nhìn ñeâm thaâu

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THE LONELY TRAVELER an unfathomable universe inside of me since bird concealed months and years pass as in a dream alone I am

along the steep road of life I walk Who is longing for home ? A lonely traveler I remain

like a white bird, alone I fly between the blue sky and the blue ocean this rose, just opened I offer, palms joined

alone with its shadow the bird flaps its wings and enters the world as proudly as the sunwhile the earth and the sky are waiting

where does time go ? Wonderful are the stars ! My mind leaves the daydream to watch the night in silence

Tokyo, July 1982

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GIOÏT LEÄ CÖÔÙI

Baây giôø ta môùi hieåu ra Phuù hö moäng aûo haèng sa kieáp ngöôøi Coøn ñaây gioït leä cuoái rôiTraàn gian xin höùng cuoäc ñôøi xin mang

THE LAST DROP OF TEAR

Now suddenly I am aware ! The world is only a floating dream countless are the cycles of lives may the last tear fall on me may the last tear of the world be mine.

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HAÏT CAÙT

Coù moät haït caùt nhoû Trong sa maïc voâ cuøng Bình minh veà muoân ngoõ Im lìm naèm thuûy chung

Bao nhieâu danh voïng ñôøi Ích gì cho haït caùt Ñôøi coùn coù hoa töôi Loøng ngöôøi coøn thôm ngaùt

Haït caùt trong sa maïc Chieác thuyeàn treân doøng soâng Cuoäc ñôøi tuy nhoû beù Söï soáng thì meânh moâng

A GRAIN OF SAND

a grain of sand in the endless desert at dawn, made a vow of faithfulness in silence

all wealth and fame of the world are of no use to the grain of sand but as long as the flower's freshness is willing to linger on this Earth the Heart of Man will bloom in full fragrance

the grain of sand in the endless desert and the boat in the middle of the river how small are their lives how immense is life

Djiring, February 1954

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VU VÔ

Maây bay qua thaønh phoá Trôøi xuoáng taän Tam QianAi ngoài treân buïc goã Nhìn kieán boø lang thang

VAGRANCY

clouds fly over the city the sky descends to the temple gate who sits on the wooden step watching the wandering ants ?

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VOÂ THÆ VAØ VOÂ CHUNG

Töø thöûô coù trôøi ñaát Loaøi ngöôøi bieát thöông nhau Ñeâm khuya Thieàn Vieän khuaát Tiønh töï traêng nhieäm maøu

NO BEGINNING NO END

To Shinzen and Shelly

Since the forming of heaven and Earth in Love bound you exit

a monastery hidden in the nocturnal mist the moon looks on with tender care Showering wonders

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LAKE BODENSEEIn memory of the poet Holderlin

Some years ago spring came He sent a poem

To the world then went crazy Forty years of being inconstant

Tonight I am taking a rest here Lake Bodensee is still full And Holderlin as the water

Flowing forever days and nights

The waves of Lake Bodensee Make someone's steps return

The man of hundred years ago Through night dew his song echoes

There are flows of tears This lonely tranquil midnight amid

How can Holderlin see that Mankind tastes the bitter flavour ?

Stars of late night sparkle wonderfully Shedding light on the lake vaguely

Under blue sky without words I meditate with endlessness

Bodensee, midnight September 19th, 1985 Thich Man Giac

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THICH MAN GIAC Zen master Thich Man Giac was born in 1929 in Hue,Vietnam. At the age of ten he became a monk. Later hestudied Buddhism at the Buddhist Academy in Hue. Hegraduated from the University of Tokyo in LiteraryScience and Oriental Philosophy (Ph.D.).

From 1965 to 1975 he taught literature as well as Indian,Chinese and Oriental Philosophy at the Universities ofSaigon and Hue. In 1978 he went to America. At thattime he was not only Zen master and scientist, but also awell known poet in his country. He has written more thantwenty books in Vietnamese, four of them poetryvolumes.

In 1980 he succeeded Thich Thien An as supreme abbotof the Vietnamese Buddhist Churches of America in LosAngeles. Zen master Thich Man Giac now resides in theLos Angeles Vietnamese temple.

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Gesshin Myoko Prabhasa Dharma

The umbrella foundation IZIAE and the InternationalZen Center Noorder Poort were founded by Zen masterGesshin Myoko Prabhasa Dharma (1931-1999).

Born in Germany as Gisela Midwer, she lived the mainpart of her life in California. There, she trained for yearsunder the Japanese Zen master Joshu Sasaki, whoordained her as a nun and teacher with the namesGesshin Myoko: Moon-Heart Wondrous-Light.

In 1981 she met the Vietnamese Zen master Thich ManGiac. In 1985 he bestowed upon

her the 'Great Dharma Mind S Transmission' or inka andshe beca Prabhasa Dharma: Brilliant Dharma, the 4^generational heir of the Vietnamese Lam (Rinzai) ZenLineage.

From 1980 until her death Prabhasa Dharma Zenjitrained Zen students in the U.S.A. a Europe. Shedeveloped a form of Zen pract that is not bound to anycountry or cuitu although she maintained some elementsboth Vietnamese and Japanese Zen.

Prabhasa Dharma, Zenji was also a great artist, knownfor her prolific poetry, and her calligraphies.

"You all know that I come from the 2 Buddhisttraditions. But when we follow spiritual path and wego it all the way ur the end, until the root of things,then we arrive at the same source: the source of all thatis. That is the Way of Zen."

Neither good nor badthe honeythat rots my teeth

Gesshin Myoko

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A SUDDEN FLASH OF LIGHTNING is a unique book, a collection of poems by two ZenMasters who came from opposite sides of the Earth to live in Los Angeles, Thich Man Giac fromVietnam and Gesshin Myoko Midwer from Germany.

Their writings complement each other, Thich Man Giac's lyrical romanticism of the Orient andGesshin Myoko's stark mystical realism of the modern West. Yet in their own styles they speak thesame language. Theirs is the writing of experience of years of a meditative practice, the directlooking at Reality the way it is.

The Great Silence of the Zen Master is a key note of these poets, the non-separation of the poetfrom the experience, the total immersion in the moment. And from this depth of silence comes theflash of lightning - a bright and pure image, revealing the Truth of Life.

Tauzan Maezumi Roshi