Buryeong Temple

                                by Ahn Sang-hak £üROK

A bird goes flying up
leaving its shadow on the ground.
It seems to have forgotten it.

Buddha
left his shadow in the lotus pond
went up onto the mountain ridge and turned into a rock.

The triple-storeyed stone pagoda
in front of the main hall
originally had no shadow.

One Buddha¡¯s Birthday,
Shan-miao  the Chinese maiden left, riding on the ninth dragon,
yet remained there as the shadow of a nun.

A windflower before the Mountain Spirit¡¯s shrine
bit its own shadow
and straightway attained perfect mindfulness.

A stone turtle, its body buried in the ground,
instead of casting off attachment to its shadow
was given the penance of having a temple built on its back.

The bird was in the sky
the shadow was on the ground.
The bird was bird, the shadow was shadow.


[Translated into English by Brother Anthony (An Son-jae)]