春雪有懷 A Snowy Day in Spring

飛雪樹頭  太古周遊

我思浩浩  天地悠悠 

東風吹徹  孰與唱酬

我思茫茫  不見子猷 

尋梅策蹇  寒江泛舟

我思澹澹  聊以忘憂 

四望一白  如臨姑射

我思渙渙  夫復何求 

With all the trees in shrouds of falling snow,

We move towards the moment of Time's birth.

My thoughts leap forward with great strength and flow

Within the massive gap of heaven … earth.

 

Around me, cold East Wind that blows and blows

Much like a song—but who will sing with me?

Dispersing, wafting thoughts are vagrant echoes

Of Zi You gone, returned, now not with me.

 

I want to ride a donkey, sail the river

To trace plum blossoms at the edge of mind.

My thoughts reach gently, dancing on forever,

They leave the worried world’s concerns behind.

While in the center of this pure white realm,

I could be in the presence of Ku Yi.

Contented, all my thoughts flow with no helm.

All I have is all I need to be. 

Translated by Jennifer Zeng.

Edited by Damian Robin.

Ariel Tian, Art Director of White Cloud Poetry Society, at Central Park. Photo by Benny Zhang Studio.

梨花

雨打清明三月初

杖頭載酒醉相扶

梨花枝下歌白雪

郢中古調聽不俗

東風吹起花千瓣

飛入夢中有也無

天淨沙•梨花

清明暖日山光

幾家青瓦園牆

望若春雲浩蕩

梨花陌上

好風吹送天香

【鴻印集】無言

紅塵自古多謗  憂來幾度悽惶

鐵馬敲風驚夢  冷月照人微涼

九死歌哭昨日  一腔悲憤詩腸

天公不言有信  我亦如是何傷

故園桃花應老  別後千春茫茫 

冬日随笔（三）

風回寒林靜  雪落幽谷空
晶瑩珊瑚樹  妝成玉虛宮
舉步疑無路  仙源心徑通
野望登高處  不見長眉翁
茫茫天地大  誰與論道同
峰出四山上  獨坐白雲中

文心 The Soul of My Poetry

文心水機  道出於一

亦真亦幻  至怪至奇 

夫彼為文  淵洄如水

溢於筆端  為漣為漪 

夫彼為水  譎詭其文

噴薄而出  如虹如霓 

若夫可聽  鳴泉濺濺

若夫可賞  江煙合離 

文焉水焉  變態萬狀

發於方寸  頃刻千里 

The soul of my poetry

is like the essence of water

following the same Way

sometimes so real

other times elusive

they can be wonderful

yet hard to understand.

When the Way manifests in my writing

It flows like water

swirling and creating ripples

spilling from the tip of my pen

causing waves from deepest origins.

When the Way manifest in water

Its ripples are mysterious

and hard to catch 

Bursting forth like a rainbow

with exquisite colors.

If the Way can be heard

Listen to the murmuring of the spring

If the Way can be seen

Watch the soft mist above a lake

Constantly gathering and departing

No longer can I tell apart

Whether it is the water or my writing

forever changing into endless forms

emerging from some intangible spring

that can erupt suddenly

with full power and majesty

outpouring and stretching

for a thousand miles.

Translated by Jennifer Zeng.

以《文心水機》為靈感設計的雲坊白水晶祥雲手串。

步虛歌 Seeking the Way

人世有大偽  代謝總無常

我生如過客  來去兩茫茫

寒潭不留影  空花隔岸香

紅塵多夢眼  一朝感悽惶

道心唯寂寞  常在水雲鄉

風起橫笛去  吹動羽衣涼

Our human world waves like a mirage blur,

So little stays the same.

I have no roots, a driven traveler

Without a family name.

My shadow shimmers. Crowds across the lake

Don’t comprehend. They take

My search as empty dreaming, lonely sorrow.

I seek the Way, to know,

So loneliness cannot be pushed away.

On high is my heart’s home.

When breezes blow, I am a flute at play,

The wind, my heavenly dome.

Translated by Jennifer Zeng

 Edited by Damian Robin

優曇婆羅花 The Mystical Udumbara

空花非是夢  夜來氣浮香

天外優曇海  縹緲白霓裳

玉骨無俗艷  寶相生清光

起舞在佛掌  下世應聖王

隨緣散花萼  忽然降十方

一花一世界  萬宇風露涼

皎然月下雪  潔白九秋霜

如意自來去  三千歲月長

The mystical udumbara is not a dream

Its fragrance penetrates the darkest night

And up into the heavens

There is a sea of udumbara flowers

Surrounded by countless layers of misty clouds

As pure as jade

Shining with ethereal light

They dance inside the Buddha's palms

And descend to this world

Responding to the Holy King

Blossoming in different places

According to predestined arrangements

Or suddenly flourishing simultaneously into ten directions

With each flower representing another world

Tens of thousands of worlds rejoice

Luminous like the snow under a full moon

Bright like the dew in deep forests

How they move with a free and easy spirit

Yet blooming only once every three thousand years

Heralding the advent of the King of the Golden Wheel

– 聽神韻交響樂曲目【優曇婆羅花】

– Original poem Inspired by "The Mystical Udumbara" by Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra.

Translated by Jennifer Zeng.

雪域藏鼓

巍峨淨土  白雲終古

須彌腳下  先民抱朴 

獵獵長風  隆隆藏鼓

雪域少年  為神而舞 

舞如蒼鷹  盤還空行

舞如雄獅  載躍載騰 

舞如金剛  雷霆奮迅

舞如大日  十方光明 

寶幢莊嚴  飛虹在天

法號吹徹  白螺喧闐 

眾生喜悅  高山之巔

佛光普照  極樂無邊 

– 2018中國新年期間通過新唐人電視台再睹神韻晚會《藏鼓豪情》

陌上（調寄天淨沙） On the Way

乍寒乍暖時光，

鷓鴣聲裡斜陽，

驛路南來北往。

相逢陌上，

晚風油壁紗窗。

Quick-change season, feels warm then low.

Chatterings, francolins*, the sun angled low.

Coming south, going north, post-road flow,

Meet as we go.

Night breeze—painted walls, screened window.

*Francolins are terrestrial (though not flightless) birds; they feed on insects, vegetable matter and seeds.

Translated by Jennifer Zeng and Damian Robin 

冬日隨筆（二）

我居異域久  嘗思北國寒 

茫茫天地古  落落對空山 

風回林更寂  雲起意近禪 

偶來松下坐  一尺雪蒲團 

出塞曲

隴水幽咽涉黃沙

回望陵闕思漢家

伊人清歌何處起

玉關夕陽艷如花

冬日隨筆（一）A Winter’s Poem (1)

山中晶瑩雪  春深寂寞林 

四時不同景  冷淡總相因 

倦遊紅塵久  常懷高士心 

默然獨愁予  空谷生白雲 

Crystal snow covering the mountains

The thick forests so lonely

While scenes change across every season

The coldness of life remains

Tired of traveling through this human world

How I long to soar far beyond!

Silent I sit here alone with a sorrowful heart

Watching white clouds rising amidst the empty valleys.

Translated by Jennifer Zeng and Gerard Traub

高山流水

伯牙揮手百鳥飛  古調希聲彈與誰

偶遇斯人在草野  聽琴論道樂不歸

指上峨峨山之隈  弦外湯湯水之湄

高山流水彈斷續  人生到此能幾回

逃聲一嘆意未盡  知音不返白雲垂

千載寂寞少同調  絶響傳於後人悲

「逃聲」：伯牙所念，鐘子期必得之。……，曲每奏，鐘子期輒窮其趣。伯牙乃舍琴而嘆曰：「善哉！善哉！子之聽夫！志想像猶吾心也。吾於何逃聲哉？」

桃園故事（調寄念奴嬌）

義結千古， 自桃園一拜， 死生相從。

亂世英雄當用事， 所謂三人成眾。

盡有西南， 三分天下， 看將雄兵勇。

青天蜀道， 江山如畫如夢。

功業何許崢嶸， 西風吹斷， 白帝添高冢。

代有興亡說不盡， 天意誰人能懂。

中土為台， 三國演「義」， 故壘荒煙重。

歌哭青史， 為由何事心動。

定中 In Tranquility / In Ding

天道何盤盤  機深玉宇寒
趺坐白石上  坐久夜正闌 
山鳥驚飛去  庭空更蕭然 
一念如寂滅  回看小塵寰 

The Way of Heaven narrows, squeezing, distant, upward

     complexly to an up high, jade-made palace.

I meditate, legs tight on a whitened mountain bollard,

     long, through long night’s deep-stretched, empty solace. 

Even mountain birds scatter before the palace.

     The courtyard desolate. The whole world, dust.

One simple, single thought. Silence. Extinction. No place.

     Look backward, only a speck of dust.

Translated by Jennifer Zeng and Damian Robin

讀史記刺客列傳

千載契闊  我思戰國

燕南趙北  奇節卓犖

載酒天涯  風塵落拓

十步殺人  拂衣自若

混跡屠狗  交遊王侯

士為知己  輕生重諾

五月花開  相逢於陌

短劍長歌  歷歷猶昨

西江月•初冬有懷 My Thoughts in Early Winter

半世異鄉過客，

平生人境為廬。

頻來歸夢總如初。

萬水千山飛度。

莫道有情浮世，

煙霞自在江湖。

偶然何事感躊躇。

隱約白雲深處。

Tune: Xi Jiang Yue(1) (Moon Over the West River) 

Wandering through foreign lands

Half of my lifetime has passed

Wherever I go

In this human world

I build another cottage as I cultivate myself

My dream of returning

Always revisiting

As strong as in the beginning

Carrying me over thousands of rivers and mountains.

Don't tell me how wonderful and colorful this world is! 

I only care about traveling freely

To rivers and lakes

Amidst mist and evening glow

Yet alas! For what reasons do I sometimes hesitate? 

A faint sadness swells in my chest

As I vaguely remember

My real home in the heavens

Hidden beyond the white clouds. 

1. Xi Jiang Yue is A qupai, the generic term for a fixed melody used in traditional Chinese music. A qupai (Chinese: 曲牌; pinyin: qǔpái; also called Chinese: 牌子; pinyin: paizi) is the generic term for a fixed melody used in traditional Chinese music. The literal meaning is "named tune," "labeled melody," "titled tune," or "titled song".)

Translated by Jennifer Zeng and Gerard Traub

Photo by Benny Zhang Studio.

蘭亭舒序賦

我聞蘭亭，其曲和雅，其聲泠泠，其境唯妙，其氣至清。寫魏晉之風骨，流觴曲水，若沐風而舞雩，欣然忘形。歌之詠之，諸賢高會。舞之蹈之，暢敘幽情。中有羲之，落墨如蘭，葉勢飛舉，雲萼娉婷。宇宙之妙，運乎其手，萬千變化，存乎一心。千載而下，逸筆無匹，後世仰止，書聖高行。神來之韻，我心向慕，不知其曲耶書耶，人耶蘭耶，長揖仙蹤之既遠，恍隔縹緲之蓬瀛，如是我聞，中心慼然，人間天上，共此一聽。

——夜聽神韻交響樂【蘭亭舒序】感而有賦

The Orchid Pavilion Gathering as depicted in an 18th-century Japanese painting. (Wikipedia)

白蓮歌 Song to the White Lotus

愛彼白蓮花

采得月精華

譬如幽人立

皎皎若明霞

不做芙蓉冠

不生神仙家

我隨清風至

遇爾水之涯

Oh, white lotus, so lovely,

Growing essence of moonlight;

Standing graceful, pure lady,

As sunshine makes clouds bright.

 

Nature’s crowns, you’ve no need for;

High immortals don't hold you.

With the wind may my wings soar

Passed world's seas to be near you.

Translation by Jennifer Zeng | Rendition into formal English verse by Damian Robin