To All Appearances A Lady - University of British Columbia

R o b e r t
Bringhurst
Dongshan Liangjie
There is one tree growing
in the worked earth, one bird flying.
The stone woman rises to dance
when the wooden man sings.
The bird and the tree have no hands. With their mouths
they eat; with their feet they stay put;
with their arms they trace the original
shapes of the mountains.
Go up and look down. If the spirits
can find you to bring you
your dinner, your mind is unclear
and your meditation imperfect.
Saints and great teachers do not
know reality. Mountain cats, bristlecone
pines, wild buffalo do.
Though you are not it, it is certainly you.
You may only agree if you disagree
equally. Those who agree with their brothers
completely have stolen their shoes
when invited to mend them.
A sky full of migrating birds
is a mind, not a text to be studied
for seconds or centuries. One plus one
plus one equals one equals many.
One minus one equals equally many. The geese
cross and are gone. Below them the stones
have learned how to dance and the trees
how to fly without leaving their places.
The sages have learned how to breathe
through their ears, how to eat with their eyes.
Time and again they forget
to open and close them.
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