生死交织　林钰堂

尸林在小镇的一隅
　 死亡与生活似乎分隔
但在尸林内
林间的鸟语风声　流水
偶而一瞥的小鹿　松鼠
和乘风飘旋而落的枫叶
令忙着挖挖补补　除草整路
的工人们　以及此去彼来的
追思者　散步客
毫不寂寞　

在此埋骨的并非在此辞世
他们都是在生活的领域中凋零
尸体可以移开　独处一隅
死亡却无从排除　与生活分离
表面上生死有隔　实际上
生死交织是生命的真象

正在枯萎的花木　也正是微生物的温床
逐渐腐化的尸体　不正培养着许多生命
一出生就是步向尸林的开始
死里有生，生里有死　大自然的循环
我们何以厚此薄彼
贪生怕死呢？

认清真象接受生死交织的事实
安心过生死一如的生活吧

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　二○○七年十月廿八日
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　养和斋　　　　于加州

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Life and Death Intertwined　Yutang Lin

The cemetery sits at one corner of the small town
　　　　 Death and daily life seem separated
But inside the cemetery
Sounds of birds and winds in the trees, the flowing stream
Occasional glances of deer, squirrel
And maple leaves swirling down on the wing of winds
Make workers, busy with digging and patching,
Mowing and clearing, and the coming and leaving
Mourners, and exercising strollers feel
Not a bit lifeless

Those whose bodies were buried here did not die here
They all faded away in the realm of daily living
Corpses can be removed, to stay alone at a corner
But death cannot be dispelled, and separated from daily life
On the surface, life and death are separated, but indeed
Life and death intertwined is the true fact of life

A withering flower or plant is simultaneously the culture bed for microbes
Corpses that are gradually decaying serve to nourish many kinds of lives
At birth one begins the stroll toward the eventual rest in cemetery ground
In death there is life, and in life there is death, 'tis the cycle of mother nature
Why do we prefer one to the other, and are
Clinging to life but afraid of death

Recognize clearly the facts, and accept the truth of life and death intertwined
Remain at ease in living a life of understanding life and death are one

 

Written in Chinese and translated on October 28, 2007
El Cerrito, California

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