Boundlessly Deep Silence

Yutang Lin

Depth of silence boundless, beyond sounds,
Not following rising or fading to quit peace.
Harmonize any voice, mute shade and noise,
Dharma drum tapped incessantly in response.

Comments:

How much is the depth of silence? What would boundless be like? Beyond sounds and shapes, not falling among the five elements (of Metal, Wood, Water, Fire and Earth). No matter sounds rising or fading, tranquility prevails without ripples. All sounds are of one flavor; feelings muted into harmony. Silence has sunken to absence of noisy dust, yet no hindrance to the flow of Dharma sounds. Tapping Dharma drums in responses, silence so deep that it awakens all in the ten directions. Not dead but capable of lively uses, it makes noises incessantly from past through now into future.

Written in Chinese and translated on January 26, 2004
El Cerrito, California

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