“reading”: a funny poem for students of all ages

Reading

 

When I read, I work hard at it,

but that makes me tired and dizzy;

so I put my book down and meditate–

then the book and I both forget about words.

 

When I feel like it, I flip the book open–

suddenly I’ve come to the Source of the Sages:

if I say this is enlightenment–

basically there is no enlightenment;

if I say this is the Mystery–

there has never been a Mystery.

It’s just a moment of happiness

when I find a passage in harmony with my mind.

But who creates this happiness?

It isn’t me, and it isn’t Nature…

 

What a laugh! All my theories are wrong!

I throw the book down beside my pillow.

 

by Yang Wan-li (Chinese poet, 1127-1206), Heaven My Blanket, Earth My Pillow

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