This world
A fading
Mountain echo
Void and
Unreal

Within
A light snow
Three Thousand Realms
Within those realms
Light snow falls

As the snow
Engulfs my hut
At dusk
My heart, too
Is completely consumed

Ryokan

from the book Dewdrops on a Lotus Leaf: Zen Poems of Ryokan

translated by John Stevens


Read a random quote or see all quotes by Ryokan.

Further quotes from the book Dewdrops on a Lotus Leaf:

• Right to the core
• The moonlight comes and goes
• I now surrender
• Unspoken meaning
• Everything is in the Heart
• Deep in the mountain
• I must go there today