An old poem

cool mountain temple

poem of Zhang Ji painted on old curtain

old and no longer used pieces of wood pieced together

linked and secured with thread

tinted with colors

a structure is formed

seen from the top, the structure is vaguely found seen from below, its form is truly present

some other pieces of wood, found and gathered, painted with colors

light blue , pinkish yellow, parallelling each other

like stationed boats , ready to be embarked to the other side of the shore

stationed or in motion, a decision

then, at one moment, the sun comes in: a stationed moment illuminated, within

through the curtain, time is stopped to be seen

one year later

admist weathered time and space, a different scenario is shown

the intonaco that fell, the structure of the green house that crumbled, the bits and pieces of the remaining colored branches

all meet up

to form a new identity

without ever forgetting that moment of poetic realm

of cool mountain 's questioning and gathering whatever 's response:

Cool mountain : just what should one do when one is being pushed to a corner; beaten up, despised, in words and in deeds Gathering whatever says: Ah, whatever the other does, in whatever negative ways, just stay aloof, do not confront, station in your heart at ease

wait a few years and see what happens

this conversation between cool mountain and gathering whatever is an approximate translation of the famous zen story where the heart of peace is emphasised; a basic illuminated spirit of the zen training of no mind

when nothing can be done, a lot yet can be done once your heart lies somewhere else, in another space, and another time

Cool Mountain Temple

by Zhang Ji ( poet of Tang dynasty )

gone, the moon

wailing, the corvo

frost

all over the sky

Maple by the pond

upon fishermen's boats

a light

ignited

a heart

asleep

with sorrow

Over there

on the other side

of Suzhou

from the temple

of

cool mountain

at midnight

its bell

sings its way

unto

this

temporary

boat of life

( approximate translation of the poem Staioning at the Maple bridge at night )

(First part of works was done in 2015, second part in 2016)