The wind is still, but blossoms fall, 

Birds sing in the quiet of the mountain. 

This is Kannon’s wondrous wisdom: 

Ah!

~ Ryokan

My hut lies in the middle of a dense forest.

Every year the green ivy grows longer.

No news of the affairs of men,

Only the occasional song of a woodcutter.

The sun shines and I mend my robe.

When the moon comes out I read Buddhist poems.

I have nothing to report my friends <on fb>...

If you want to find the meaning, 
stop chasing after so many things!

~ Ryokan

 Standing alone beneath a solitary pine

Quickly the time passes. 

Overhead the endless sky 

 Who can I call to join me on this path? 

~ Ryokan

Everywhere you look

The mountains are covered

With mist and blooming cherry trees.

 

~ Ryokan

***

If you look, 

if you are not absorbed in the screen of your mobile device...

You do not need many things

My house is buried in the deepest recess of the forest

Every year, ivy vines grow longer than the year before.

Undisturbed by the affairs of the world I live at ease,

Woodmen’s singing rarely reaching me through the trees.

While the sun stays in the sky, I mend my torn clothes

And facing the moon, I read holy texts aloud to myself.

Let me drop a word of advice for believers of my faith.

To enjoy life’s immensity, you do not need many things.

~ Ryokan

tr. Nobuyuki Yuasa

Justina:  ... just a caring soul around.

Too lazy to be ambitious

I let the world take care of itself.

Ten days’ worth of rice in my bag;

a bundle of twigs by the fireplace.

Why chatter about delusion and enlightenment?

Listening to the night rain on my roof,

I sit comfortably, with both legs stretched out.

~ Ryokan