“Silent Bamboo” by Nadia Krashevska

Here is a 1,200-year-old Zen poem by Bai Juyi that was written on the walls of a priest’s cell circa 828. Translated by Arthur Waley, it appears in Peter Harris’s Zen Poems, published by Knopf Everyman’s Library. According to the biographical endnotes:

BAO JUYI (772-846). Also known as Bo Juyi … Bai Juyi was a mid-Tang poet of great versatility. He lived through troubled times, including an official attack on Buddhism that led to the closure of monasteries in 842-5. His own lifelong devotion to Buddhism was eclectic rather than relating to one particular sect. In his admiring biography of Bai the translator Arthur Waley remarked on Bai’s extraordinary compassion, reflected in the tone of much of what he wrote, including his popular ballad, “The Song of Lasting Sorrow.”

Realizing the Futility of Life

Ever since the time I was a lusty boy
Down till now when I am ill and old,
The things I have cared for have been different at different times,
But my being busy, that has never changed.
Then on the shore,—building sand-pagodas;
Now, at Court, covered with tinkling jade.
This and that, equally childish games,
Things whose substance passes is a moment of time!
While the hands are busy, the heart cannot understand;
When there are no Scriptures, then Doctrine is sound.
Even should one zealously strive to learn the Way,
That very striving will make one’s error more.

I have always admired Arthur Waley. There was a period half a century ago when I sought out his translations of various Oriental texts. In my library are a number of his titles.