Mindful of the tide,
thoughtful of the dark,
daily schedule patterned,
I avoid accidents
and ecstasy.
Still, I dream,
and know the chaos
of not
knowing.
The sparrow
may sing
at any
moment.
(No. 6 in a series of responses to Han-shan’s Songs of Cold Mountain)
Or, as one of my teachers (Robert Aitken) says, “a single spark can light your dharma candle”. Since such experiences always happen by accident, about the best we can do is make ourselves accident prone. Despite our steadfast resistance to accidents and unplanned experiences!
(Numeric reference to Han-shan’s poem reflects the order of presentation in Burton Watson’s translation, presented as Cold Mountain, Columbia University Press, 1970.)
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