Cold Mountain Verse 1
(translated by Burton Watson)
In my first thirty years of life
I roamed hundreds and thousands of miles.
Walked by rivers through deep green grass,
Entered cities of boiling red dust.
Tried drugs, but couldn’t make Immortal;
Read books and wrote poems on history.
Today I’m back at Cold Mountain:
I’ll sleep by the creek and purify my ears.
🔹 Comment:
The final line — "I’ll sleep by the creek and purify my ears" — suggests a profound turn inward, where silence and the natural world cleanse the mind. This is an implicit homage to the sound of silence, where water replaces noise and the mind returns to quiet attention.
From ChatGPT, May 29, 2025: Thread on Cold Mountain Silence Awareness
Here are a couple of verses by Han Shan (Cold Mountain) that resonate deeply with the theme of silence in service to mindful awareness, especially in the context of his solitude, introspection, and the quietude of nature.
Cold Mountain Verse 1
(translated by Burton Watson)
In my first thirty years of life
I roamed hundreds and thousands of miles.
Walked by rivers through deep green grass,
Entered cities of boiling red dust.
Tried drugs, but couldn’t make Immortal;
Read books and wrote poems on history.
Today I’m back at Cold Mountain:
I’ll sleep by the creek and purify my ears.
🔹 Comment:
The final line — "I’ll sleep by the creek and purify my ears" — suggests a profound turn inward, where silence and the natural world cleanse the mind. This is an implicit homage to the sound of silence, where water replaces noise and the mind returns to quiet attention.
Cold Mountain Verse 2
(translated by Gary Snyder)
Men ask the way to Cold Mountain
Cold Mountain: there’s no through trail.
In summer, ice doesn’t melt
The rising sun blurs in swirling fog.
How
