'常建 題破山寺後禪院 translation: Writing of the Meditation Hall of Po Mountain Temple, by Chang Jian'
This is a very rough translation and annotation of the poem 題破山寺後禪院 (Tí Pòshān Sì Hòu Chányuàn), ‘Writing of the Meditation Hall of Po Mountain Temple’, by the Tang Dynasty Chinese poet 常建 (Cháng Jiàn).
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題破山寺後禪院 Tí Pòshān Sì Hòu Chányuàn Writing of the Buddhist Hall of Po Mountain Temple
清晨入古寺， Qīngchén rù gǔsì, [clear] [morning] [enter] [old] [temple] In the clear morning one enters this old temple;
初日照高林。 chū rì zhào gāolín. [first] [sun] [shine] [high] [forest] the rising sun shines on the tops of the trees. (See [Ron Thuoy's explanation](/china/classical/chang-jian-tipo-shan-si/#comment-12539" title="Ron Tuohy 2013/05/14 14 at 03:24) of this line.)
竹徑通幽處， Zhú jìng tōng yōu chù, [crooked] [footpath] [through] [secluded] [place] A bamboo footpath takes one through to a secluded spot;
禪房花木深。 chánfáng huāmù shēn. [meditation] [room] [flower] [wood] [deep] the meditation room is deep in the flowers and trees.
山光悅鳥性， Shān guāng yuè niǎo xìng, [mountain] [light] [please] [bird] [nature] The mountain light makes the birds joyous;
潭影空人心。 tán yǐng kōng rénxīn. [pool] [reflection] [empty] [person] [heart] the reflection in the pool empties a human mind.
萬籟此都寂， Wànlài cǐ dōu jì, [ten thousand] [music] [here] [all] [silent] Ten thousand sounds here are all silent;
但餘鐘磬音。 dàn yú zhōng qìng yīn. [only] [remain] [bell] [chime] [sound] only the sounds of the bells remain.
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Sources and further reading
