Poems about Zen

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To My Teacher

An old grave hidden away at the foot of a deserted hill,
Overrun with rank weeds growing unchecked year after year;

by Taigu Ryokan 15 lines, 6 comments
At dusk

at dusk
i often climb

by Taigu Ryokan 9 lines, 1 comment
I watch people in the world

I watch people in the world
Throw away their lives lusting after things,

by Taigu Ryokan 15 lines, 4 comments
My Cracked Wooden Bowl

This treasure was discovered in a bamboo thicket --
I washed the bowl in a spring and then mended it.

by Taigu Ryokan 5 lines, 2 comments
Blending with the wind,

Blending with the wind,
Snow falls;

by Taigu Ryokan 11 lines, 1 comment
My legacy

My legacy --
What will it be?

by Taigu Ryokan 5 lines, 2 comments
Teishin

“When, when?” I sighed.
The one I longed for

by Taigu Ryokan 6 lines, 1 comment
In a dilapidated three-room hut

In a dilapidated three-room hut
I’ve grown old and tired;

by Taigu Ryokan 11 lines, 1 comment
Wild Roses

Wild roses,
Plucked from fields

by Taigu Ryokan 4 lines, 1 comment
When I was a Lad

When I was a lad,
I sauntered about town as a gay blade,

by Taigu Ryokan 8 lines, 2 comments
Zen Poet Taigu Ryoken

This is an introduction to the Japanese Zen poet Taigu Ryoken known for his beautiful almost seer-like poetry. He revelled in the love o

by Oldpoetry 63 lines, 1 comment
When all thoughts

When all thoughts
Are exhausted

by Taigu Ryokan 4 lines, 1 comment
How can I possibly sleep

How can I possibly sleep
This moonlit evening?

by Taigu Ryokan 4 lines, 1 comment
Yes, I’m truly a dunce

Yes, I’m truly a dunce
Living among trees and plants.

by Taigu Ryokan 7 lines, 1 comment
In my youth I put aside my studies

In my youth I put aside my studies
And I aspired to be a saint.

by Taigu Ryokan 11 lines, 1 comment
In the morning

In the morning, bowing to all;
In the evening, bowing to all.

by Taigu Ryokan 11 lines, 1 comment
Midsummer

Midsummer --
I walk about with my staff.

by Taigu Ryokan 8 lines, 1 comment
Three Thousand Worlds

The Three Thousand Worlds
that step forward

by Taigu Ryokan 4 lines
For Children Killed in a Smallpox Epidemic

When spring arrives
From every tree tip

by Taigu Ryokan 6 lines, 1 comment
Like the little stream

Like the little stream
Making its way

by Taigu Ryokan 4 lines, 1 comment
Stretched out

Stretched out,
Tipsy,

by Taigu Ryokan 4 lines, 1 comment
Returning to my Native Village

Returning to my native village after many years’ absence:
I'll I put up at a country inn and listen to the rain.

by Taigu Ryokan 5 lines, 2 comments
No luck today on my mendicant rounds

No luck today on my mendicant rounds;
From village to village I dragged myself.

by Taigu Ryokan 7 lines, 1 comment
The wind has settled

The wind has settled, the blossoms have fallen;
Birds sing, the mountains grow dark --

by Taigu Ryokan 2 lines
No Mind

With no mind, flowers lure the
butterfly;

by Taigu Ryokan 7 lines, 1 comment
Final Curve

When you turn the corner
And you run into yourself

by Langston Hughes 12 lines
Reply to a Friend

In stubborn stupidity, I live on alone
befriended by trees and herbs.

by Taigu Ryokan 16 lines, 1 comment
At Master Do's Country House

Two miles from town, I meet an old woodcutter
and we travel the road lined with huge pines.

by Taigu Ryokan 34 lines, 1 comment
A Fisherman

Studying texts and stiff meditation can make you lose your Original Mind.
A solitary tune by a fisherman, though, can be an invaluab

by Ikkyu Sojun 4 lines, 1 comment
To Lady Mori with Deepest Gratitude and Thanks

The tree was barren of leaves but you brought a new spring.
Long green sprouts, verdant flowers, fresh promise.

by Ikkyu Sojun 5 lines

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