Inscribed on the Buddhist temple behind Poshan Temple
Entering the ancient temple early in the morning, the first sun shines on the high forest.
The bamboo path leads to a secluded place, and the Zen room is deep with flowers and trees.
The light of the mountain is pleasing to the birds, and the shadow of the pond is empty of the human heart.
All the sounds are silent, except for the sound of the bell.
This is an impromptu poem that depicts scenery and chants about Buddhism. The poem uses the distant and quiet environment of the mountain forest temple to express the distant and indifferent mind and the reclusive feelings of pursuing the joy of mountains, rivers, forests and springs, without leaving any trace. Praising the holy light of the Buddha in the Zen Temple. The style of the poem is quaint and elegant, the description is clear and clear, the imagery is profound, and the artistic conception is harmonious. It is a unique and famous poem among the landscape poems of the prosperous Tang Dynasty that has been spread by thousands of people.
The first couplet summarizes the whole poem, indicating the time, environment and whereabouts of the characters. The language is simple and easy to understand, and the painting is fresh and beautiful. The poems can easily trigger people's associations. The poet climbed Poshan Mountain early in the morning and entered the ancient temple. The rising sun illuminated the mountain forest, the water vapor was transpiration, and the mountain color was empty, like smoke and fog, like a dream. What a beautiful scene full of colors and brilliance! The poet's joy and intoxication are beyond words. The word "Gaolin" has a pun meaning, one refers to the strong and tall bamboo forest, and the other is that Buddhists call the place where monks gather as a "jungle". Here, "Gaolin" also means to praise the Zen monastery. In the scene of the illuminated mountain forest Showing the feeling of praising the Buddha. The chin couplet describes the scenery, finding the strange in the ordinary, and the "secluded place" shines brightly. The poet meandered along the bamboo forest path, only to see thick shade blocking out the sun, and the ground covered with moss. In the winding and deep place where there was no path, he suddenly saw flowers clustering in the Zen courtyard room. Such a quiet and beautiful environment and such a winding journey made the poet marvel and be intoxicated. The description of the deep twists and turns of the path and the dense cover of flowers and trees actually hints at the monastery's far-away and hidden character, and also highlights the poet's yearning for a life of singing sutras and worshiping Buddha. We can almost say that for the poet, the journey since climbing the mountain in the early morning is a process of appreciating the beautiful scenery and discovering Zen Buddhism. In a sense, life is a constant search, constant pursuit, and constant pursuit. The process of discovery is also a process that allows life to settle down and the soul to find its destination. The poet placed the "zen room" in a place with secluded paths and forests of flowers and trees, keeping it at a distance from the real world. Does it imply that the process of people's search is an arduous but wonderful process? I think it means this. Some versions of the sentence "Zhu Jing" are written as "Zu Jing". The word is different and the mood is different. Bamboo has the characteristics of being straight and upright, rising steadily, straight in the middle and straight outside, and clear and unchanging, which is a metaphor for the noble character, elegant taste and indifferent mind of those who practice Zen and worship Buddha. Su Dongpo once said, "It is better to eat without meat than live without bamboo." Wang Wei wrote a poem, "The noise of the bamboo returns to the girl, and the lotus moves under the fishing boat." They both wrote about the clear and green bamboo, and both contained metaphorical praise. The use of "qu" seems to be indispensable in expressing the deep environmental characteristics of the path, but it lacks the refinement and elegance of "bamboo". Therefore, I think it is better to use "bamboo".
The neck couplet and the tail couplet closely follow the chin couplet in concept. The chin couplet describes the poet's discovery of beauty and the joy of pursuit. These two couplets are rendered through the description of the scenery with sound and color, movement and stillness, emotion and state. Buddhist Zen philosophy has the effect of cleansing the human heart and refreshing the mind. It not only brings readers the enjoyment of beauty, but also brings them into the beautiful and unique world of Buddhism. The poet looked around and saw the sun shining high, the sky and the earth shining brightly. The green bamboo forest was bathed in the bright sunshine and shining brightly, which was dazzling. The lively birds flew freely and freely among the lush forests and bamboos, making people enviable. In front of the Zen room is a crystal clear water pool, with blue sky, white clouds, and lush bamboo trees reflected in it, giving people a sense of cleanliness, clarity, and relaxation. "Empty human heart" corresponds to the "pleasant bird nature" in the previous sentence, indicating that such an ethereal and pure world can indeed wash away dusty thoughts and purify the soul; "pleasant bird nature" also implies that people can only be like birds, staying away from the world, returning to nature, and worshiping Buddha Only by believing can you maintain your authenticity and be at ease in the world. The chin couplet describes the scenery of mountains, birds flying happily, and the shadows of ponds are clear, all of which vividly imply the wonderful effect of Zen Buddhism in influencing people's hearts and purifying the soul. The two last couplets use sound to set off the silence, creating a state of complete silence. The sound of bells goes far beyond the time-telling function of "morning bells and evening drums", and is endowed with some profound symbolic meanings. This is an extraterrestrial sound from the Buddhist holy land. This is a wonderful Buddha that leads people into a pure and joyful world. Sound, this is the sound of nature that echoes deep in people's hearts, melodious and loud, profound and transcendent. Obviously, the poet appreciates the isolated residence of this Zen courtyard and appreciates the artistic conception of Buddhism that forgets the world. He expresses his feelings of escaping from the world and praises the mysterious realm of Buddhism.
Most of the landscape poems of the Tang Dynasty sing about seclusion and have a leisurely and comfortable mood. However, Chang Jian's poem is different. He writes about the poet's spiritual enlightenment in the leisurely and contented way, which is purified by the sound of Zen Buddhism. The human soul follows the poet along the way. In addition to admiring the beautiful natural scenery, we are also always immersed in the spiritual world of gods and objects, emotions and scenes. Perhaps, this is what Chang Jian painstakingly wants to tell us. Another world".