To a class I had recently:
A poetic response to appropriation in the book Chenoo, using only all of the "Oriental" sayings found in the text.
ki-yah
(only from Chenoo, by Joseph Bruchac)
Each chapter begins with a brief quotation that is derived,
in one way or another, from master teachers and oriental philosophy.
- Bruchac
the new ones ask
is this history your story?
- 符溧仁
awake, less than awakened
sleeping, almost awake;
no mind, no force, no guilt –
everything except itself
not this time
a straight line
can be bent into a circle
the sharpest knife
cannot cut itself
clouds still float over
the highest mountain -
rain does not
just fall from the sky
not this time
the hardest to forget
is memory -
teeth are hard and decay
tongue is soft and remains
- every road goes nowhere
the river washes away
less than tracks on the earth,
lines on maps – wave swallows stone,
sunrise and then sunset
sunset and then sunrise
the eyes see more
or less than the mirror;
appearances are deceiving,
disappearances are worse,
the memory of a dream –
is it a dream as well?
komodo strikes only when the time is right
a good explanation
(expect nothing
explains nothing
be glad when you get it)
be the mountain:
the hilltops see
in all directions.
to see the mountain,
follow the tracks
of dreams in dreams.
when I see through the eyes
of my enemy, I see myself;
we do not see the wind
until the trees are moved by it.
the enemy of my enemy
the one who runs
is the enemy of my enemy
is the one pursued
the open hand five fingers together
make a single fist -
ichi, ni, san
to see the heart,
one ear hears more
than ten mouths;
look for the tiger,
the bird that flies –
even when you cannot see them
all fish swim in the water.
sen, go, no, koe
see through the heart;
the tiger looks for you
the stars remain in the sky
the old ones ask:
is history your story?
the open hand remains empty
when the eye is shut
sword and wild rose
(big or small)
leaves the tree;
tree becomes forest
(one is hard to discern)
forest becomes tree
what one wants
is not always what is wanted
look into the past
many easy to see
remember the future
soft against hard, wind against stone
if we are aware
eyes closed and listening
we wear what we are
the story told, not the storyteller
seasons change
and remain the same -
(the attacker is always the one at a disadvantage)
eye open and blind
who sees the border,
between waking and dream?
keep your wants simple
and they may equal your needs -
when the enemy thinks of the mountain
ask the mountain, and it might answer
attack like the sea
the bird does not see lines on a map;
with strategy one defeats one thousand
catches the wind
one and one
may be more than three;
the night sees -
light makes shadow
do we see the night?
light unmakes shadow
李白,
drinking alone,
crossing mountains –
turn to go straight
go back to arrive.
kill him,
or he will kill you.