Monday, September 21, 2009

What is Montello.....to me?

The mental image of my life in Montello, surely conjured up on difficult days, is highly reflected in this poem by Ryokan, perhaps the best loved buddhist poet of Japan.

Too Lazy to be ambitious

Too lazy to be ambitious,
I let the world take care of itself.
Ten days' worth of rice in my bag;
a bundle of twigs by the fireplace.
Why chatter about delusion and enlightenment?
Listening to the night rain on my roof,
I sit comfortably, with both legs stretched out.

1 comment:

  1. I do not like work even when someone else does it. - Mark Twain

    The idea of more, of ever increasing wealth, has become the center of our identity and our security, and we are caught by it as an addict by his drugs. - Paul Wachtel, Economist

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