Wrapped in a cui^* looking at the fragrant plants, each one with its own delightfully unique characteristics;

My hair has become white now, the flowers were red yesteryear.

Changing colors are ephemeral, like the morning dew, the fragrance of incense is like the evening breeze;

Why should one wait to wither and fall, only to later understand emptiness?

── from Chanzong Songgu Lianzhu Tongji
(Comprehensive Collection of the Chan School’s Verses on Ancient Precedents that are a String of Jewels)

I only travel to old places I have been,
Carelessly forming attachments. Such is confusion.
A strong wind rises at night,
Blowing down many peach blossoms.

── from Wudeng Huiyuan
(Compendium of the Five Lamps)

For love I seek the light by pouring over books;

I was unable to leave that place–how difficult.

Suddenly, I arrive on the road I came from

And begin to awaken to the past my eyes had cheated from me.

── from Lin Jian Lu
(Record of Training in the Forest)

Old Juzhi loved to teach with one finger.

Is there anything in the universe but emptiness?

Once, he threw a piece of driftwood into the great ocean,

In the darkness the waves carried it to a blind seaturtle.

── from Chanzong Songgu Lianzhu Tongji
(Comprehensive Collection of the Chan School’s Verses on Ancient Precedents that are a String of Jewels)
* A woolen robe, a name used by monastic for this garment worn by monastics.