Poetry Explorer


Classic and Contemporary Poetry


THE POEMS OF COLD MOUNTAIN: 286 by HAN SHAN

First Line: I SEE PEOPLE CHANTING SUTRAS
Last Line: KNOWS THERE'S NO INSIDE OR OUT
Subject(s): BUDDHISM; CHINESE LITERATURE; IGNORANCE; BUDDHA; BUDDHISTS; DULLNESS; STUPDITY;

I see people chanting sutras
relying on the words of others
mouths at work without their minds
mouths and minds at odds
the mind in truth contains no tangles
it creates no walls or chains
just examine your own self
don't look for a stand-in
he who masters his own mouth
knows there's no inside or out



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