Talking about food will not make you be fed anyway;
Speaking of clothes will not keep you out the cold.
The thing you need to be fed is rice;
Warm clothes will keep you out the cold.
Meanwhile, you don't know how to manage your many thoughts;
You only talk of the hardship you meet in seeking for the Buddha.
Turn around your mind and you will see where the true Buddha is.
Never look for him facing outwards!
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
I strain my eyes to see as far as the eyes can see;
White clouds are all around, like the boundless sea.
Owls and crows are so full, they can barely move,
While phoenixes starve, dashing around in twenty minds.
Fine horses and steeds cart gravel and stones,
While lame donkeys and jades are all in court.
Heaven is so high that we can’t hear the reason why
Small songbirds dwell around on the cold Canglang River.