The original idea came from lines 5 and 6 but in a different form. I was stumped in completing the lines until the idea from lines 1 and 2 came into being and everything falls in place.
1 前水不回後潮湧 Never to return as waves from behind pushes the head waters forth,
2 春風力倦秋氣重 Languid is the spring wind and the feel of autumn is heavy.
3 一代豪傑今日塵 A generation of heroes are but dust of today,
4 雲烟散盡萬事空 And when all the mists have been dissipated, vacuity is left.
6 蓬萊難踏極樂夢 Difficult it is to step into the Immortal Isles and Nirvana is but a dream.
7 勸世莫負時光好 Forsake not the goodness of youth, I urge of thee,
8 淚滴成河歎無窮 ‘tis too late when tears had become rivers of endless sighs.
1 It is the nature of water to seek the lowest level and can never go back whence they came just as time is of only one direction.
2 The weight of the years.
4 Power, material wealth and even relationships are like the mists covering up their true nature. They are just temporal accoutrements of life that never last.
5 西域 – Han Dynasty term for the western regions beyond the
Jade Gate Pass, 玉門關. Here it refers to India where Buddhism came from. The bright moon signifies the ultimate truth. The Eastern Ocean is where the Taoist
Immortal Isles are located. Nearby lies
the underwater palace of chief of the Dragon Kings. The fog represents the mystic and hazy
promises of an immortal’s life.
6 蓬萊 (Horai in Japanese) is the name of one of the three Immortal Isles. 極樂 is short for 極樂世 (The Realm of Ultimate Joy), the Buddhist paradise.
7 Religion is man’s insecurity after death. What is real are regrets when one's youth had been squandered away in pursuit of foolishness.
Wednesday, June 16, 2021
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