Bird's View        

Yutang Lin

Flew back from Europe to America
Taking a bird's view from airplane window
Even though already at low altitude
Cars on freeways are still as tiny as a toy building block
Then people inside cars
        Are indeed minute beyond description

Nevertheless, our minds' eyes
Without our awareness
Are fixed on this one dot for a whole lifetime

Dharma teaches us that there is no self
In other words, it is pointing out that
One should not be blinded or deluded
By such a tiny little bit

This tiny bit in the universe
Amounts to almost nothing
How could one be confined by it
To forget the boundlessly open sky and earth

Open your mind
        Self-confined and self-torturing dear ones
Life is capable of limitless expansions
May you be blessed with sooner awakening
To escape from suffering and enjoy peace and ease


Written in Chinese on November 13, 2010
Translated on November 15, 2010
El Cerrito, California

[Home][Back to list][Back to Chinese versions]