Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Erin Riordan's Work

Erin Riordan is a young poet I met at Marlboro College when I was asked to be her outside thesis advisor in her senior year. I remembered her well not only for her interesting thesis but because of her presence. I was not surprised to read later that she won the most compassionate person award or somethign like that. Since graduating from Marlboro, she is currently at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center--with it's legacy of many fine poet practitioners.  She is a writer and does marvelous ink washes. I thought she might like a bottle of our homemade Black Walnut ink (which we are sending her). I asked her to send some work to post on the blog and this is what she sent based on her studies. The ink washes are her own original work--Jacqueline Gens, 2014



正法眼藏第六十一
Treasury of the Eye of the True Dharma
Book 61

龍吟
Song of the Dragon
(Ryūgin)
舒州投子山慈濟大師、因僧問、枯木裏還有龍吟也無。師曰、我道、髑髏裏有師子
       Once a monk asked the Chan Master Ciji of Mt. Touzi from Shuzhou, “Is there the song of the dragon in the driedtree?”
      The master said, “I say there’s the roar of the lion in the skull.”1
枯木死灰の談は、もとより外道の所教なり。しかあれども、外道のいふところの枯木と、佛祖のいふところの枯木と、はるかにことなるべし。外道は枯木を談すといへども、枯木をしらず、いはんや龍吟をきかんや。外道は、枯木は朽木ならん、とおもへり、不可逢春と學せり。
            Talk of “dried trees and dead ashes” is originally a teaching of the alien ways.  Nevertheless, there should be a big difference between the “dried tree” spoken of by the alien ways and the “dried tree” spoken of by the buddhas and ancestors.  While the alien ways talk of “dried trees,” they do not know “dried trees,” much less do they hear “the song of the dragon.”  The alien paths think that the “dried tree” is a rotted tree; they study that it cannot “meet the spring.”2
佛祖道の枯木は、海枯の參學なり。海枯は木枯なり、木枯は逢春なり。木の不動著は枯なり。いまの山木海木空木等、これ枯木なり。萠芽も枯木龍吟なり、百千萬圍とあるも、枯木の兒孫なり。枯の相性體力は、佛祖道の枯椿なり、非枯椿なり。山谷木あり、田里木あり。山谷木、よのなかに松栢と稱す。田里木、よのなかに人天と稱す。依根葉分布、これを佛祖と稱す。本末須歸宗、すなはち參學なり。かくのごとくなる、枯木の長法身なり、枯木の短法身なり。もし枯木にあらざれば、いまだ龍吟せず、枯木にあらざれば、龍吟を打失せず。幾度逢春不變心は、渾枯の龍吟なり。宮商角徴羽に不詳なりといへども、宮商角徴羽は、龍吟の前後二三子なり。
            The “dried trees” that the buddhas and ancestors speak of is the study of “the ocean drying up.”  The ocean drying up is the tree drying out; the tree drying out is “meeting the spring.”  The tree not moving is “dried.”  The present mountain trees, ocean trees, sky trees, and the rest—these are the “dried tree.”  The “germination of a sprout” is the “song of the dragon in the dried tree”; though it may be a hundred, thousand, myriad in circumference, it is the progeny of the dried tree.  The mark, nature, substance, and power of “dried” is “a dried post” and “not a dried post,” spoken of by the buddhas and ancestors.  There are trees of mountains and valleys; there are trees of paddies and villages.  The trees of mountains and valleys are known in the world as pines and cypress; the trees of paddies and villages are known in the world as humans and devas.  “The leaves are spread based on the root”:  this is called the buddhas and ancestors; “root and branch return to the source”:  this is our study.  Being like this is the dried tree’s long dharma body, the dried tree’s short dharma body.  One who is not a dried tree does not make the song of the dragon; one who is not a dried tree does not lose the song of the dragon.  “How many springs has it met without changing its mind?”—this is the song of the dragon entirely dried.  Though it may not be versed in the notes of the scale, the notes of the scale are the second or third sons of the song of the dragon.3
[152]
しかあるに、這僧道の枯木裏還有龍吟也無は、無量劫のなかに、はじめて問頭に現成せり、話頭の現成なり。投子道の我道髑髏裏有師子吼は、有甚麼掩處なり、屈己推人也未休なり、髑髏遍野なり。
            Nevertheless, this monk’s saying, “is there the song of the dragon in the dried tree?” is the first appearance of the question in countless æons; it is the appearance of a topic.  Touzi’s saying, “I say there’s the roar of the lion in the skull” is “what’s been concealed?”  It is “never ceasing to subdue oneself and promote others”; it is “skulls fill the fields.”4
香嚴寺襲燈大師、因僧問、如何是道。師云、枯木裏龍吟。僧曰、不會。師云、髑髏裏眼睛。後有僧問石霜、如何是枯木裏龍吟。霜云、猶帶喜在。僧曰、如何是髑髏裏眼睛。霜云、猶帶識在。又有僧問曹山、如何是枯木裏龍吟。山曰、血脈不斷。僧曰、如何是髑髏裏眼睛。山云、乾不盡。僧曰、未審、還有得聞者麼。山云、盡大地未有一箇不聞。僧曰、未審、龍吟是何章句。山云、也不知是何章句。聞者皆喪。
      A monk once asked the Great Master Xideng of Xiangyan zi, “What is the way?”
      The master said, “The dragon song in the dried tree.”
      The monk said, “I don’t understand.”
      The master said, “The eyeball in the skull.”
      Later, a monk asked Shishuang, “What is the dragon song in the dried tree?”
      Shuang said, “Still harboring joy.”
      The monk said, “What is the eyeball in skull?”
      Shuang said, “Still harboring consciousness.”
      Again, a monk asked Caoshan, “What is the dragon song in the dried tree?”
      Shan said, “The blood vessel not severed.”
      The monk said, “What is the eyeball in the skull?”
      Shan said, “Not entirely dried up.”
      The monk said, “Well, can anyone hear it?”
      Shan said, “On the whole earth, there isn’t one who can’t hear it.”
      The monk said, “Well, what passage does the dragon sing?”
      Shan said, “I don’t know what passage it is.  Everyone who hears it loses his life.”5
[153]
いま擬道する聞者吟者は、吟龍吟者に不齊なり、この曲調は龍吟なり。枯木裏髑髏裏、これ内外にあらず、自佗にあらず、而今而古なり。猶帶喜在は、さらに頭角生なり。猶帶識在は、皮膚脱落盡なり。
            The hearer and singer spoken of here are not equal to the singer of the dragon’s song; this tune is the dragon’s singing.”  “In the dried tree,” “in the skull”—these are not about inside or outside, not about self or other; they are the present and the past.  “Still harboring joy” is a further “horn growing on the head”; “still harboring consciousness” is “skin entirely shed.”6
曹山道の血脈不斷は、道不諱なり、語脈裏轉身なり。乾不盡は、海枯不盡底なり。不盡是乾なるゆゑに、乾上又乾なり。聞者ありや、と道著せるは、不得者ありや、といふがごとし。盡大地未有一箇不聞は、さらに聞著すべし、未有一箇不聞は、しばらくおく、未有盡大地時、龍吟在甚麼處、速道速道なり。未審龍吟是何章句は、爲問すべし、吟龍は、おのれづから泥裏の作聲擧拈なり、鼻孔裏の出氣なり。也不知是何章句は、章句裏有龍なり。聞者皆喪は、可惜許なり。
            Caoshan’s saying, “the blood vessel not severed,” is speaking without avoidance; it is “turning the body in the stream of words.”  “Not entirely dried up” is “when the ocean dries up, it does not entirely [dry] to the bottom.”  Since “not entirely” is “drying up,” there is “drying up” beyond “drying up.”  His saying, “can anyone hear it?” is like saying, “is there anyone who can’t?”  7

About “on the whole earth, there isn’t one who can’t hear it,” we should ask further:  leaving aside “there isn’t one who can’t hear it,” when there isn’t any whole earth, where is the song of the dragon?  Speak!  Speak!  “Well, what passage does the dragon cry?” should be made a question.  The crying dragon is itself raising its voice and bringing it up within the mud, is breathing it out within its nostrils.  “I don’t know what passage it is” is a dragon within the passage.  “Everyone who hears it loses his life”:  what a pity!
 [154]
いま香嚴石霜曹山等の龍吟來、くもをなし、水をなす。不道道、不道眼睛髑髏。只是龍吟の千曲萬曲なり。猶帯喜在也蝦䗫啼、猶帶識在也蚯蚓鳴、これによりて血脈不斷なり、葫蘆嗣葫蘆なり。乾不盡のゆえに、露柱懷胎生なり、燈籠對燈籠なり。

            This song of the dragon of Xiangyan, Shishuang, and Caoshan forms clouds and forms water.  It does not talk about the way; it does not talk about the eyeball or skull:  it is just a thousand tunes, ten thousand tunes of the song of the dragon.  “Still harboring joy” is “the croaking of frogs”; “still harboring consciousness” is “the murmuring of worms.”  By these, “the blood vessel is not severed,” “the bottle gourd succeeds the bottle gourd.”  Since it is “not entirely dried up,” the columns conceive and give birth, the lanterns face the lanterns.8



正法眼藏龍吟第六十一
Treasury of the Eye of the True Dharma
The Song of the Dragon
Book 61
爾時寛元元年癸卯十二月二十五日、在越宇禪師峰下示衆
Presented to the assembly twenty-fifth day of the twelfth month of the first year of Kangen (mizunoto-u), beneath Yamashibu, in the domain of Etsu9
弘安二年三月五日、於永平寺書寫之
Copied this on the fifth day of the third month of the second year of Kōan, at Eiheiji10


The story is based on the koan Ryugin, or Dragon Song by Dogen.You can find a translation of it here:  http://scbs.stanford.edu/sztp3/translations/shobogenzo/translations/ryugin/translation.html. Original ink washes by Erin Riordan





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