Substance, Shadow and Spirit

I

Substance to Shadow

Earth and heaven endure forever,

Streams and mountains never change

Plants observe a constant rhythm,

Withered by frost, by dew restored.

But man, most sentient being of all,

In this is not their equal.

He is present here in the world today,

Then leaves abruptly, to return no more.

No one marks there's one man less

Not even friends and family think ofhim;

The things that he once used are all that's left

To catch their eye and move them to grief.

I have no way to transcend change,

That it must be, I no longer doubt.

I hope you will take my advice:

When wine is offered, don't refuse.

II

Shadow to Substance

No use discussing immortality

When just to keep alive is hard enough.

Of course I want to roam in paradise,

But it's a long way there and the road is lost.

In all the time since I met up with you

We never difered in our grief and joy.

In shade we may have parted for a time,

But sunshine always brings us close again.

Still this union cannot last forever

Together we will vanish into darkness.

The body goes;that fame should also end

Is a thought that makes me burn inside.

Do good, and your love will out live you;

Surely this is worth your every effort.

While it is true, wine may dissolve care

That is not so good a way as this.

III

Spirit's Solution

The Grcat Potter cannot intervene

All creation thrives ofitself,

That Man ranks with Earth and Heaven

Is it not because ofme?

Though we belong to diferent orders,

Being alive, I am joined to you.

Bound together for good or ill

I cannot refuse to tell you what I know:

The 'Three August Ones were great saints

But where are they living today?

Though P'eng-tsu lasted a long time

He still had to go before he was teady.

Die old or die young, the death is the same,

Wise or stupid, there is no difference.

Drunk every day you may forget,

But won't it shorten your life span?

Doing good is always a joyous thing

But no one has to praise you for it.

Too much thinking harms my life;

Just surrender to the cycle of things,

Give yourself to the waves of the Great Change

Neither happy nor yet afraid.

And when it is time to go, then simply go

Without any unnecessary fuss.