Pickup

29

Silver stars dot the beam

green silk marks the weight

buyers move it forward

sellers move it back

never mind the other's anger

just as long as you prevail

when you die and meet Old Yama

up your butt he'll stick a broom

(P285, translation Red Pine)

36

Those who leave home leave to be free

and pity the suffering masses

they proselytize for the Buddha

telling others to choose a path

but who can they possibly save

doing whatever they please

descending with everyone else

into the same abyss

(P288)

37

Drunk on delusion greed and anger

dazed and unaware

you turn money into a dream

a dream that becomes an iron jail

using one pain to get rid of another

you never get rid of pain

unless you learn before it's too late

you learn to turn to yourself

(P291)

41

Those who leave home nowadays

turn out to be fools at heurt

at first they seek liberation

then run errand instead

visiting laymen all day long

chanting and acting solemn

earning money for wine

funkies in the end

(P293)

43

By and large the monks I meet

love their meat and wine

instead of climbing to Heaven

they slip back down to Hell

they chant a sutra or two

to fool the laymen in town

unaware the laymen in town

are more perceptive than them

(P295)

48

For a mud ball dropped in water

big plans make no sense

for a fragile dreamlike body

a hundred years are rare

unable to ponder deeply

and claiming they're immortal

people steal a ton of gold

then leave it all behind

(P297)