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Poetry

In the Mountains, Sent to Ch’an Brothers and Sisters

By Wang Wei
Translated from Chinese by David Hinton

Dharma companions filling mountains,
a sangha1 forms of itself: chanting, sitting

ch’an2 stillness. Looking out from distant
city walls, people see only white clouds.

1A community of Buddhist practitioners.
2Ch’an is the Chinese translation of dhyana, Sanskrit for “sitting meditation.” The Ch’an (Zen) Buddhist sect takes that name because it focuses so resolutely on sitting meditation.

From Mountain Home: The Wilderness Poetry of Ancient China, forthcoming from New Directions.

English

Dharma companions filling mountains,
a sangha1 forms of itself: chanting, sitting

ch’an2 stillness. Looking out from distant
city walls, people see only white clouds.

1A community of Buddhist practitioners.
2Ch’an is the Chinese translation of dhyana, Sanskrit for “sitting meditation.” The Ch’an (Zen) Buddhist sect takes that name because it focuses so resolutely on sitting meditation.

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