One Robe, One Bowl - Ryokan

[Larry Robinson]

One Robe, One Bowl
				
My Life may appear melancholy,
But traveling through this world
I have entrusted myself to heaven.
In my sack, three sho of rice;
By the hearth, a bundle of firewood.
If someone asks what is the mark of enlightenment
  or illusion,
I cannot say "wealth and honor are nothing but dust."
As the evening rain falls I sit in my hermitage
And stretch out both feet in answer.

If you speak delusions, everything becomes a delusion;
If you speak the truth, everything becomes the truth.
Outside the truth there is no delusion,
But outside delusion there is no special truth.
Followers of Buddha's Way!
Why do you so earnestly seek the truth in distant places?
Look for delusion and truth in the bottom of your hearts.

	- Ryokan
	(translated by John Stevens)