Tempering the Will
To consummate yourself,
reaping Buddhahood,
Let joy be found in hardship.
Physical pains count little as suffering,
Indeed, cultivating mind is hardest.
Each and every barrier must be broken through,
And everywhere does evil lurk.
Abundant troubles rain down together,
All to see: Can you pull through?
The world's miseries endured,
One departs the earth a Buddha.
December 17, 1976
An Upright Person
He who acts for his name
a life of anger and hate is his
He who acts for profit
cold is he, knowing not his kin
He who acts for emotion
many are the troubles he brings himself
Bitter,
fighting away,
he makes karma all his life.
Not seeking a name
life is carefree and content
Not set on profit
one is known as humane and righteous
Not stirred by emotion
the mind is quiet, desires few
Kind,
cultivating himself,
he builds up virtue all his years.
July 13, 1986
The Awakened
Ordinary people know me not,
I sit amidst Mystery;
Where there is profit and desire,
there I am not,
After others pass away,
only I remain.
February 2, 1987
Note: This was written before I spread the Fa and at a time when I cultivated
in solitude.
Who Dares
Renounce Human Attachments?
While the ordinary man might
long for Immortaldom,[1]
Behind the unbelievable wonders
lies wrenching sorrow;
It takes cultivating the mind,
severing desires,
casting off attachments,
Lest man be lost in his ordeals
and gripped with deep regret.
August 9, 1988
[1]"Immortaldom" (shenxian) is a common idea in Chinese culture,
somewhat similar to Saintdom in the West, whereby a being is endowed, by
virtue of his or her spiritual achievement, with magical, supernatural powers
and an enduring bliss.
My Hope
Heaven and Earth, so vast, look small to my eye,
For who created the limitless Firmament?
Beyond the Cosmos 'tis yet more boundless,
To fulfill my grand hope I spread the Great Way.
January 1, 1990
Nothing Kept
In life, nothing sought,
In death, regretting naught;
Washing away all wrong thought,
Buddhahood, with less
adversity, is wrought.
October 20, 1991
Falun Dafa
Cultivating gong has a path
mind is the way
On the boundless sea of Dafa
hardship is your ferry
July 24, 1992
One With the Fa
Broadly shines a Buddha's light,
Justly setting all things right.
Advance together, ever diligent,
To a glorious future.
December 27, 1992
Riding the True Fa
Vessel
Truth...?
Mysteries...?
Cultivation...?
Alas, uncertainty...
Alas, confusion...
Realization...!
January 17, 1993
Non-action
The Three Religions[2] stress
cultivating with non-action,
But at first improper intention 'tis with-action;
A focus on charitable works is still action,
Remove all attachments for true non-action.
January 17, 1993
[2]"Three Religions" is a term for Chinese Buddhism, Daoism, and
Confucianism.
Studying Dafa
Innate base is cultivation's foundation,
From righteous understanding stems
a superior man's wisdom.
Cherish Zhen Shan Ren,
keep the Way in heart,
And Falun Dafa can bring Consummation.
February 18, 1993
Clear Harmony
With Zhen Shan Ren nestled in the heart,
Cultivating oneself, in turn, betters a society.
With Dafa never off the mind,
Surely you will transcend others in time.
February 28, 1994
Seeking the Righteous Fa
Supernatural skills are but petty means,
The Great Fa must be the basis of everything.
April 2, 1994
Gaining the Fa
Cultivate Dafa with all your heart,
Nothing could be more important.
Become one with Dafa,
And Consummation is, in time, certain.
July 7, 1994
Predestination
Clearer is the Awakened One's mind,
The Fa gained, he travels the secular world,
Long, drawn-out millennia have now passed,
When the predestined time arrives,
the Fa will be fulfilled.
August 27, 1994
Fulfilling the Vow
With shared purpose did you come to the
earth,
And in gaining the Fa you took the lead.
One day shall you ascend to the heavens,
Then free, unfettered,
with the immeasurable power of Fa.
August 27, 1994
Assisting the Fa
You resolved to save sentient beings,
And assist Master as he
journeys this human world;
Come now, and help me turn the Falun,
When the Fa is fulfilled,
Heaven and Earth will be yours to travel.
August 28, 1994
Cause and Effect[3]
'Tis not that the journey of cultivation is
painful,
Karma from generation upon generation is blocking you.
Steel your will,
eliminate karma,
cultivate xinxing,
And become a Buddha who keeps forever the human body.
September 15, 1994
[3] The term used in the Chinese text here, yinguo, has the sense
of preordained fate, or causality, stemming from conduct at an earlier time or
in a previous life.
Cultivating
Amidst the Delusion
Ordinary people do not understand the pain of
cultivation,
Happiness to them is vying and competing;
Cultivate, my disciples, 'til no single omission is found,
And with the passing of all adversity,
will come the sweetness of true joy.
September 15, 1994
Solid Cultivation
Study the Fa and gain the Fa,
Focus on how you study and cultivate,
Let each and every thing
be measured against the Fa.
Only then, with that,
is it actually cultivation.
October 7, 1994
Perfect Harmony in
Buddha Fa
Far and wide do I spread the Dafa,
Saving people, beyond the Five Elements they go.
Those who persevere at cultivation,
Will transcend the Three Realms upon Consummation.
October 15, 1994
Salvation Again
Unceasingly turns the Law Wheel, saving
sentient beings,
Learn the Fa, gain the Fa, cultivate your xinxing;
For in the Age of Fa's End the Wheel turns again,
Illuminating with Fa, the hearts of the predestined.
December 27, 1994
Real Cultivation
Cherish Zhen, Shan, Ren,
And in Falun Dafa shall you succeed;
Cultivate your xinxing without
a moment's pause,
To taste the wonder,
so immeasurable, at Consummation.
December 27, 1994
Assimilation and
Consummation
From the Cosmos so boundless and vast,
Radiated an arc of golden light.
Unto the world descended an Awakened One,
And Heaven and Earth did align.
Bright does the whole universe glow,
Melding into the light of Fa.
With Consummation, in flight you will ascend,
Together returning to Paradise.
December 31, 1994
Dafa Breaks the Illusion
All the affairs, countless, over long,
drawn-out years
pass like a wisp of smoke.
And though they leave the common man confused,
For what were the vast heavens and earth created?
'Tis baffling, this question, to the sentient beings.
January 27, 1995
Breaking Free
of the Three Realms
He who regards not
ordinary sorrows and joys
A cultivator is he
He who has not attachment
to worldly loss and gain
An Arhat is he
In May, 1995
Visiting the
Hanging Monastery[4]
In the middle of a thousand-foot cliff,
there it hangs, a monastery,
Spreading Dafa far and wide,
leaves little time for leisure;
In this life, I visit again
the ancient monastery on a precipice,
One day, the Fa mended,
to every monastery it shall spread.
June 11, 1995
[4]The Hanging Monastery (Xuan Kong Si), or more literally, "The
Temple Suspended in Void," is located in Shanxi Province and was built on the
sheer precipice of one of the Heng Mountains. The structure was built some
1,400 years ago and consists of over 40 buildings as well as caves.
Visiting North Mount
Heng[5]
Where is the Dao in these timeless
mountains and cloud-shrouded peaks?
Ages has the ancient monastery stood,
yet now to it tourists flock;
Oblivious to the beauty of mystery,
the ordinary people,
For vile profits
exploit the ancient monastery.
June 11, 1995
[5]North Mount Heng, meaning
"Everlasting Mountain," is located in Shanxi Province. It is one of the five
"sacred mountains" of China, all of which boast rich historical and spiritual
legacies.
Made Clear
A Buddha came to walk the earth,
But too lost was the ordinary man to wake;
Malevolent ones even did Him harm,
Making Good and Evil ever so clear.
July 26, 1995
Visiting Nanhua Temple[6]
So hard is serenity to find
here, in Buddhism's "pure land,"
Sinister things and evil thoughts
thrive in this troubled time;
The more repute a place enjoys,
the more do fiends abound,
Amidst the din and throng of selling,
firecrackers even sound.
August 15, 1995
[6]Nanhua (or "Southern China")
Temple is located in Guangdong Province, and was home to the Sixth Zen
Patriarch, Hui Neng. The temple is over 1,500 years old.
Self-Cultivation
Though the Dafa spreads near and far
How many people can gain the Way?
With petty worldly matters, so many, weighing down
You'd do well to cultivate in that hard-earned leisure time
Then, one day, when the mist and smoke have all passed
Will you discover: 'twas the True Dao you did gain
October 6, 1995
Observing Quietly
In the leisure of serene cultivation,
those Immortals I observe,
Each through the ages
did show his special powers;
Today the world is different,
ghastly is the change in man's heart,
No longer do the many gods save,
as they wait for the calamity to end.
October 16, 1995
Vastness
Infinitely distant is Heaven's vault,
But with just one thought
'tis right before the eye;
Immeasurably huge is the Cosmos,
Falun turns between
Heaven and Earth.
November 9, 1995
In Command of
Heaven and Earth
So huge is the sky
there lies even more of it beyond,
Each with a sun and moon,
layers upon layers, they fill the Firmament;
So broad is the earth
it has both sky and ground,
Each breeding all things,
in turn, they populate the whole Cosmos.
November 10, 1995
The
Difference Between Mortal and Divine
What is a human?
Full is he of emotion and desire.
What is a God?
Human thoughts are nowhere found.
What is a Buddha?
Benevolent virtue is amply endowed.
What is a Dao?
A realized being, serene and clear.
November 10, 1995
Between
Human And Phantom
Foxes, weasels, ghosts, snakes---
bringing chaos to the world,
Fouling up the air, making a mess,
with their shamanic dance;
Lacking a teacher, lacking cultivation,
they still call themselves masters,
Two decades has it been like this,
such folly and madness.
November 11, 1995
Cold and Alone Up High
Handling human affairs of every sort,
Burdened with all of heaven's troubles.
To whom can I turn to exchange a few words?
In higher places it is only colder.
November 11, 1995
The Awakened One
Every form of travail has he weathered,
Countless the fiends trampled under his feet;
His palm erected, the whole Cosmos shakes,
A grand Buddha stands between Heaven and Earth.
November 12, 1995
Human Work and
Buddha Cultivation
Some 2,500 years, the Buddhist precepts
have been bequeathed,
Name and gain, they tell, first must go,
then the grueling cultivation begins;
Alas, the monks of our day take salaries,
And workplace dress is even provided.
December 25, 1995
After the Catastrophe
In realms
ultra-finite, ultra-vast,
all declined matter is subdued,
Stretching the Ten Directions, tiny to vast,
the Firmament meets the eye;
The heavens clear,
the cosmic body transparent,
the universe rectified,
With the ultimate catastrophe now past,
lucent is the whole Cosmos.
January 2, 1996
Delusion
Multitudinous are the
lives that fill the Firmament,
Layer upon layer, each with its Heaven and Earth.
So incredible and wonderful the spectacle,
But the common man is too lost, caught in delusion.
How easy to say, it is, yet so hard to really see,
For cultivation is like climbing steps.
Only up high does the mist of delusion clear,
There the magnificent sight appears---
miraculous,
indescribable!
January 3, 1996
Demonic Shift
So great the shifts in
celestial phenomena,
The common man now lacks good thoughts.
His mind, absent control,
gives way to the demonic,
Disasters follow, natural and man-made,
sorrowful anguish.
Everyone sees one another as enemy,
Everything proves short of expectation.
Could the common man know why?
Only a cultivator can unlock the puzzle.
January 4, 1996
Abiding in the Dao
Present, but the heart elsewhere---
Perfectly reconciled with the world.
Looking, but caring not to see---
Free of delusion and doubt.
Listening, but caring not to hear---
A mind so hard to disturb.
Eating, but caring not to taste---
The palate's attachments severed.
Doing, but without pursuit---
So constant, abiding in the Dao.
Calm, but without strain of thought---
The truly wondrous can be seen.
January 4, 1996
Benevolent Might
Dafa is what you carry everywhere,
Zhen Shan Ren, rooted in the mind;
A great Arhat walks the earth,
Gods and demons fear with awe.
January 6, 1996
Lord of Buddhas
Who could fathom the measure of Heaven and
Earth?
Yet the Milky Way lies beneath his feet.
Who could grasp the reach of the Cosmos?
Yet the turning Wheel is right in his palm.
January 6, 1996
Falun World
Words cannot describe its beauty and wonder,
Its every hue and color, so glorious, dazzle the eye;
Fortune and longevity fill this Buddhist Holy Land,
At a higher place sits the Falun World.
January 23, 1996
Destined
Return for the Holy Fruition
Oh how many the years, looking for the
master,
Finally the day has arrived to meet him.
Cultivate and return, the Fa now gained,
And follow your master to return, consummated.
January 23, 1996
A Tour of Mount
Xiangtang Temple[7]
Sun and moon circle in turn,
Cosmos is the wheel that turns,
So easily, another two hundred years gone by,
Nothing remains of the old Xiangtang.
March 6, 1996
[7]Mount Xiangtang Temple is located in Hebei Province.
Climbing Mount Tai[8]
I climb the steep
steps, stretching miles ahead,
Winding upward and steep, this road,
even to set off is hard;
Glancing back, 'tis just like cultivating Righteous Fa,
Pausing half way makes salvation hard.
So steel the will, and lift thy leaden leg,
Endure the pain, diligent, and cast off attachments;
Dafa disciples, the tens of millions---
A place still higher awaits you at Consummation.
April 15, 1996
[8]Mount Tai is located in central
Shandong Province. For centuries it has been a vitally important part of
Chinese culture, and was the site of official rites performed by past
emperors.
Success at Consummation
Fame, gain, emotion---cultivate each away,
And ascend to the Firmament at Consummation,
See the human world with eyes of compassion,
Then are you freed from the spell of delusion.
April 21, 1996
Tai-chi
Peerless was the Immortal Zhang Sanfeng,[9]
Traveling all domains, his Great Dao was unmatched,
Later generations, for fame, bungled the boxing art,
Altering my Tai-chi, sullying my name.
July 1, 1996
[9]Zhang Sanfeng is a well-known
Daoist figure who is said to have created Tai-chi chuan.
Suffering to Save
Steering the Fa Vessel before disaster
descends,
Millions upon millions
the hardships and perils, blocking my path,
Carrying the Cosmos, boat broken and torn,
At last! I pull into shore---
a dream of ten thousand years.
September 23, 1996
Deviation
Yin and Yang turned upside down,
The minds of men have shifted,
Ghosts and beasts are all about,
How far man has strayed from the Dao.
September 26, 1996
Salvation Far and Wide
Lay down your human, mundane mind,
The Fa gained, you now stand divine,
Break free, and depart, these Three Realms,
And ascend to Heaven with a Buddha Body.
October 16, 1996
Clarity of Mind
I spread the Fa, your Master, for salvation
of all,
The earth's four corners I pilgrimage,
the Fa Vessel I board,
In a world full of sin and venom I transmit Dafa,
Turning the Falun, the Cosmos is set right.
October 16, 1996, in Atlanta
Composure Amidst
Calamity
Transmitting the True Fa,
Proves harder than just hard.
Many are the demons who impede,
Risks piled atop risks.
December 22, 1996
Age of Fa's End
Man is no longer humane,
Gods, no longer godly,
The human realm is void of Dao,
Where are right thoughts found?
December 22, 1996
Casting off Attachments
Delusion blinds the world's people,
Each attached to fame and gain,
But honest and kind were the ancients,
Calm and balanced,
fortune and longevity were their lot.
December 25, 1996
Acting with Intent
How they busy themselves, building temples,
worshiping,
Knowing not their acts are all for naught;
Lost in stupefying illusion,
they vainly dream of journeying to the Western Paradise,
Groping blindly, walking in darkness,
they try to scoop the moon's reflection from water.
March 28, 1997
A Visit to Yue Fei
Shrine[10]
The rushing waters carried off his tragic
heroism,
Yet his great spirit, his loyal soul, still endures;
All that remains of the age-old shrine is a place to grieve,
Now only his loyalty remains to guide posterity.
September 11, 1997, in Shang Yin
[10]Yue Fei is a much-celebrated hero of the Southern Song Dynasty.
He is known for his courage and patriotism, and credited with defending China
against northern invaders. He died a tragic death at the hands of a court
official named Qin Hui.
Visiting my Hometown
On and on, the autumn
rain falls like tears,
Every drop filling my heart with anguish;
I look about, but no one do I know in the town,
Several times has my village lain in ruin.
Here, then gone, eight hundred years race by,
And no one knows who I am;
I lower my head as I light several sticks of incense,
Their smoke drifts away, towards old acquaintances.
Turning back, my wish fulfilled,
I shall come again to help all return.
September 11, 1997
at the hometown of Yue Fei
A Tour of the Qing East
Imperial Tombs[11]
Three hundred years flow past like water,
Old palaces and desolate tombs fill the eyes with sorrow;
None could foresee my return to the world today,
One day the Fa, mended, will spread for eternity.
October 26, 1997
at the Tomb of Emperor Kang Xi
[11]These are tombs dating from
the Qing Dynasty and located in Hebei Province.
Good and Evil Now
Distinct
Disasters, one atop another, befall the
sentient beings
who have changed in ghastly ways;
Yet here in this chaotic world is Dafa to save them.
Confusing Good and Evil as they malign Heaven's Law,
The doers of unpardonable evil will be
swept off by the chill of autumn's wind.
November 15, 1997
A Visit to Sun-Moon Lake[12]
A pool of water crystal clear,
Reflecting the splendor of smoke-like
clouds here and there,
Here in this chaotic world,
It has kept its rare beauty.
November 17, 1997
[12]Sun-Moon Lake is one of
Taiwan's best-known tourist spots and the island's largest freshwater lake.
Recalling Chang'an[13]
How the landscape of Qinchuan[14]
has changed,
Chang'an now lies buried in the earth.
Gone is the Celestial Empire, its glory and might,
In the blink of an eye centuries have passed.
Where now can Taizong be found?
Dafa is here to save the people of Tang.[15]
November 22, 1997
[13]Located in what is today Xi'an city, Chang'an (or "Eternal
Peace") was the ancient capital of a dozen dynasties and an important
political, economic, and cultural center.
[14]Qinchuan was a valley in the
ancient Kingdom of Qin, and has long been associated with the origins of
Chinese civilization. Chang'an was located at its center. It lies in the
plains of what are today Gansu and Shanxi provinces.
[15]"People of Tang" is often
used as an expression meaning "the Chinese people."
Set the Mind at Ease
The destiny is tied,
And Fa what you cultivate,
Study the book a lot,
Consummation draws near.
January 27, 1998
Looking Back
Stories over the long, drawn-out ages,
Have made of Man a deluded thing;
Those who claim abundant wisdom,
Do wield their skills so dexterously,
but all is done in emotion.
February 19, 1998
The World's Ten Evils
Humans lacking any kind
thoughts---
Each becomes the other's enemy.
Destruction of the traditional---
Culture turns decadent.
Homosexuality and licentious desires---
A dark mind, turned demonic.
Rampant gambling and use of drugs---
People do whatever they please.
Less restrictions, promiscuity---
People head toward depravity.
Sinister gangs and the deranged political party---
Politicians and gangsters work together as one.
Acting wantonly, lacking restraint---
People defy Heaven and betray the Dao.
Blindly believing in science---
Mankind grows warped.
Promoting and esteeming violence---
People are given to fierce fighting.
The wicked metamorphosis of religion---
Money men and politicians are they.
July 7, 1998
Visiting Yanmen Pass[16]
As I ascend by foot to Yanmen Pass,
A faint churning stirs my heart.
The ancient path of a thousand years remains,
But gone is everything of the past.
From here Yanzhao[17] left, commanding his horse,
A thousand stormy years have elapsed.
Now, gazing down from the Pass,
I see Dafa in the central plains.[18]
August 10, 1998, at Yanmen Pass
[16]Located in Shanxi Province,
Yanmen Pass was historically a point of strategic importance along the Great
Wall and the site of many battles.
[17]"Yanzhao" is short for Yang
Yanzhao, a national hero and great general in the Northern Song Dynasty who
died in a battle against invaders from the north.
[18]The term "central plains"
refers usually to the Yellow River valley, and can be understood to here mean
China more broadly.
Becoming
One
Scriptures cultivate your mind,
Exercises temper your body;
One day, upon Consummation,
Zhen Shan Ren
will be with you to stay.
November 18, 1992
Revised in August, 1998
Born Anew
As the Righteous Fa spreads,
Untold fiends try to impede,
Yet sentient beings
do still gain salvation,
And human notions change,
The degenerate things purged,
Brightness now shines forth.
September 7, 1998
I Smile
I smile---
sentient beings have awakened
I smile---
Dafa now spreads
I smile---
the ferryboat has set sail
I smile---
for sentient beings there is hope
November 16, 1998