Appendix 6 “Lamenting Tranquil Hearing, My Buddhist Companion: Six Poems with Preface”

PREFACE

The Superior One, Tranquil Hearing, and I pledged our devotion to famous mountains and, on our journey, traveled 10,000 li to reach Mount Chicken Foot. When he became sick and did not recover, I put him in the Exalted Benevolence Monastery in Nanning. Shortly after we parted ways, he took his final leave. As for the pain of life and death, my feelings are revealed in the following words.

POEM 1

At dawn, we shared company in cloudy passes; at sunset, we shared tiny temple nooks;

Amid Buddhist chants and flickering lamps, we found our sense of solace.

Meditation dispelled bad elements in his bones, voided his remnant dreams;

Thinner than the yellow flowers, he could not bear the cold.

We gazed at mountains in the west; together, we shared life and death;

I now look east; my companion gone; carrying on will be hard.

At home, we only remarked that those who climb lofty heights are rare;

My soul is broken on the world’s edge: I can only look forward alone!

Translator’s Commentary: This initial poem in the sequence recalls past days and travels with Tranquil Hearing, while in the ultimate line, Xu laments his “broken soul” and the road he must now travel alone. Line 3 requires some explanation: White Bone Meditation (Baigu Guan) refers to a Buddhist introspection method that, when appropriately practiced, can cleanse one’s bones of harmful dark elements, thereby leading to the purification of body and mind. The point here is that Tranquil Hearing practiced Buddhist meditation in such a rigorous way that he could purify his body and mind, thereby “voiding” or eliminating all secular cravings or “dreams.” In line 4, Xu Xiake alludes to a line in a lyric poem written by the Song dynasty poet Li Qingzhao (1084–ca. 1155) written to the tune “Tipsy in Flowery Shade” (Zui huayin). This is a mournful verse, written during the Double Ninth Festival in autumn when wine infused with chrysanthemums (or “yellow flowers”) was drunk to celebrate the occasion. However, Li Qingzhao’s mood is somber because she lost her husband earlier and is now experiencing the holiday alone. The ultimate line of her poem reads: “In the westerly wind that curls up the curtains, I am thinner than the yellow flowers.” Xu Xiake draws on this line to describe how he imagines Tranquil Hearing must have looked on his deathbed in the Exalted Benevolence Monastery in Nanning.

POEM 2

Rough and rugged roads, a thousand rivers, a thousand mountains as well;

His discipline kept him from polluting the clear river; his countenance endured the filth.

Almost in a fish belly, bedridden on the boat, he preferred to suffer the passengers’ reproach;

I temporarily lodged in the Dragon Flower Monastery; now, I drift alone into oblivion.   

I am sorry that when he was on the brink of death, I took my leave;

Nothing is sure about my floating life except that I will return home alone.

Holding back my tears, I feel sorrow for you, sir, and for myself as well;

Divided shadows may survive or perish, but our bond will never be broken.

Xu Xiake Note: “The Superior One, Tranquil Hearing, was meticulous and rigorous in his religious discipline and would never discharge nasal mucus or saliva into a river. When he came down with this grave illness on our boat, he preferred to endure everyone’s complaints and curses and vowed never to pollute the pure river water.”

Translator’s Commentary: As we saw in the account of the Xiang River robbery, even when healthy, Tranquil Hearing would never urinate or defecate in rivers. When traveling by boat, he would always go ashore to relieve himself. When he became ill with dysentery and could not leave the boat, he refused to bathe in the river out of fear of defiling it. His entire body eventually became caked with filth. Not surprisingly, the resulting unpleasant odor annoyed the other passengers on the boat. Line 3 references the Xiang River robbery. When river pirates boarded their boat, Xu Xiake and the other passengers jumped overboard to save themselves. Tranquil Hearing, however, remained onboard to guard his copy of the Lotus Sutra, Xu’s books, and other items. Later, a passenger named Shi falsely accused him of colluding with the pirates, only to discover that the monk had recovered a chest full of Shi’s belongings. “Almost in a fish belly” (yufu) means “in the throes of death.” The idea here is that even though Tranquil Hearing faced almost certain death during the robbery—he was stabbed several times, the monk nevertheless displayed great bravery by remaining on the boat. As for line 4, there was a Dragon Flower Monastery on Mount Chicken Foot, but when Xu Xiake wrote this poem, he had still not reached Yunnan. Xu’s reference must refer to another temple of the same name. Its precise location is unknown. In line 5, Xu recalls that his monk companion died just one day after Xu left Nanning. Although Xu Xiake does not directly mention any feelings of guilt about having abandoned Tranquil Hearing when the monk was on the brink of death, there can be little doubt that such feelings were much on his mind. Xu’s comment in line 7 about “feeling sorry” confirms his regret over deserting his friend.

POEM 3

The roving traveler still took his leave while the sick traveler stayed behind;

When we parted, we still had memories of our former days.

Life and death on this very day suddenly parted ways;

Gatherings and partings, through the years, now converge.

When our journey began, we stumbled along, winding through canyons;

But in the end, repeated calls to cross the river were all made in vain.

For half my life, with only a dipperful of drink, my climbing clogs scaled a thousand mountains;

I will commit his dried-up bones on the shore of a miasmic sea.

Translator’s Commentary: Line 6 of this poem alludes to Zong Ze (1059–1128), a general who bravely defended the Northern Song dynasty capital at Kaifeng from attack by foreign Jurchen (Jin) military forces in the mid-1120s. Zong exhorted the Song emperor—who had fled the capital—to return to Kaifeng, organize his military forces, and cross the Yellow River to retake sacred Song territory lost to the Jurchen in the north. This plan, however, was blocked by court officials who preferred capitulation to the foreign invaders. On his deathbed, Zong Ze reportedly cried out “Cross the River” three times, but his clarion call—like his appeal to the emperor—was ignored. Xu Xiake regards Tranquil Hearing and Zong Ze as two men whose lofty ambitions were thwarted. The penultimate line employs another allusion to the Analects of Confucius. “Dipperful of drink” refers to someone—in this case, Xu Xiake—who lives a straightforward life. In Analects 6.11, Confucius commends his disciple Yan Hui in this way: “How admirable was the virtue of Hui! With just a simple bowl of food and a dipperful of drink and living along a rundown, shabby lane—others could not have endured such distress, yet Hui remained unchanging in his joy. How admirable is Hui!” As for the ultimate line, the Chinese believed that the southern tropical forests produced nocuous vapors that were harmful and even deadly to humans. “Miasmic sea” refers to Lake Erhai, an alpine lake in west-central Yunnan. But Tranquil Hearing’s remains were not buried there. Xu’s point is that he will bury the monk’s bones on Mount Chicken Foot, far from the Chinese heartland.

POEM 4

Together, we journeyed to the southwest, to the land of Langbo;

I could not bear to see my transcendent partner fall prey to a swooping hawk.

In a barren land, we were far removed from that famous mountain height;

Now wrapped in horsehide, it will be hard for him to follow me home in triumph.

The yellow chrysanthemum brings tears at our separation, a thousand li still to go;

My white thatch-grass soul breaks apart in five-flower mists.

Time has passed since we parted ways; now I carry your bones, sir;

Night after night on this empty mountain, the tearful cries of a cuckoo.

Translator’s Commentary: “Langpo” (Vietnamese: Lãng Bạc) refers to the site outside modern Hanoi where the Han general Ma Yuan (14 BCE–49 CE) led a military expedition that defeated the forces led by the Trưng sisters. This pair of Vietnamese military commanders ruled for three years after rebelling in 40 CE against Chinese domination of Vietnam. Here, Xu Xiake emphasizes the great distance of his journey with Tranquil Hearing to Mount Chicken Foot in the southwest. The “swooping hawk” in line 2 refers to the poisonous, miasmic vapors of south and southwest China, to which Xu attributes the cause of the monk’s death. Line 3 references Nanning, which he describes as a “barren land,” and Mount Chicken Foot, or “that famous mountain height.” “Wrapped in horse hide” (guoge) is an expression also associated with Ma Yuan, who is credited with coining the idiom “wrapping one’s corpse with horse hide” (馬革裹屍). This refers to a military man so dedicated to his responsibilities that he is willing to die on the battlefield and have his body wrapped in horsehide and taken home. Xu Xiake’s point is that Tranquil Hearing’s unexpected death means his Buddhist companion cannot fulfill his dream of visiting Mount Chicken Foot and returning home to Jiangyin in triumph. In line 5, the yellow chrysanthemum is used as a metaphor to represent Tranquil Hearing’s noble and unsullied character and how Xu cried at their “separation” and now must travel “a thousand li” to deliver his remains on Mount Chicken Foot. The comment that Xu’s “White thatch-grass soul breaks apart” is another expression of his sadness over the “separation” from his Buddhist companion (the precise meaning of the expression “five-flower mists” is unclear). Finally, the cry of the cuckoo bird is a familiar image in Chinese poetry, symbolizing sorrow and sadness.

POEM 5

Crane shadows and duckweed tracks never have a specific path;

In a floating life, who decides what happens during the three reincarnations?

Guarding his sutra as he faced pirate swords, his body was covered with wounds;

Maintaining discipline to keep the river pure, he was always careful where he spat.

This bamboo basket is hard to lug, stocked with his remnant bones;

Midway on our journey, vainly, he trusted my heart’s meager pledge.

When we parted, I already feared I would never see him again;

How many times, as I was about to leave, was I still unwilling to go?

Xu Xiake Note: “When we were robbed on the river, the Superior One alone remained on board the boat. With swords cast down on him, he risked his life to protect the sutra, saving it from being burned or lost in the river.”

Translator’s Commentary: In the opening line, Xu Xiake likens Tranquil Hearing’s “floating life” to “crane shadows” and “duckweed tracks,” which move aimlessly in this direction or that, without any destination in mind. Buddhism’s “three reincarnations” refer to the past, present, and future. To paraphrase Xu’s question in line 2: “Who was responsible for the tragic life of Tranquil Hearing, who ultimately suffered so much misery and pain”? The “pledge” in line 6 refers to Xu Xiake’s promise to bury Tranquil Hearing’s remains on the slopes of Mount Chicken Foot.

POEM 6

One bout of Māra’s hindrances, another about of his naivete;

His dream of visiting the famous mountain is also a form of desire.

When a well does not reach down to spring water, there is no need to talk about it being nine fathoms deep;

When the general found it hard to cross the river, he still shouted three times!

Although exhausted at the ferry crossings, in this master’s heart, there was only the Buddha;

As for the foolish man who moved a valley, he died and left behind male descendants.

Being together is an illusion, as is separation; both are manifestations of illusion;

Taking life and death as a dream we can share together is better.

Translator’s Commentary: This last poem in the sequence differs from the previous five in that Xu Xiake’s tone is less mournful and soberer, even to the point where he questions Tranquil Hearing’s devotion to Buddhism. “Māra” (Chinese: Moluo) is a supernatural demon in Buddhist scriptures who represents the passions that delude those like Tranquil Hearing, who seek enlightenment through meditation. Māra sends “hindrances” to block such efforts. In the opening line, Xu Xiake says that while becoming a monk, Tranquil Hearing endured numerous “hindrances” or hardships but perhaps was unwise in showing no flexibility in dealing with those hardships. As for line 2, maintaining “desire” (tan) violates one of the most basic rules in Buddhism. So, Xu says, Tranquil Hearing’s strong desire to deposit his sutra on Mount Chicken Foot violates a fundamental Buddhist precept. Line 3 alludes to the following passage in the Mengzi (or Mencius) 26: “You can dig a well nine fathoms deep, but if you do not reach water, it is the same as an abandoned well.” The Mengzi reference and mention of General Zong Ze (for which, see the commentary to poem #3) bring attention to failed attempts to realize a cherished ambition. This parallels Tranquil Hearing’s unsuccessful mission to reach Mount Chicken Foot. “Ferry crossings” in the following line should be understood to refer to Xu Xiake and his monk companion’s extensive travels together. On several occasions during their journey to the southwest, Tranquil Hearing became exhausted because he could not physically keep up with Xu Xiake’s relentless pace of travel, but he always “had Buddha in his heart.” Line 6 alludes to the famous folktale “Foolish Old Man Who Moved a Mountain” (Yugong yishan; why Xu changes “mountain” to “valley” in this line is unclear). Although his neighbors laughed at his desire to clear a road by moving a mountain, the old man persevered, as did his children and their children. Impressed with his perseverance, Heaven eventually ordered the removal of the mountain. The idea here is that Tranquil Hearing shared these same qualities of dedication and willpower. In the final couplet, Xu resolves his set of poems dedicated to Tranquil Hearing by stating the basic tenet of Buddhism, supposedly once uttered by the Buddha himself: “All is an illusion.” In other words, our mind’s projections of reality are illusory. It is better, says Xu Xiake, to regard life and death as a dream that can be shared.

Following Tranquil Hearing’s death, Xu Xiake left Nanning on 5 February 1638. After additional sightseeing in Guangxi, he crossed the border into his next provincial destination, Guizhou, on 10 May. Over the next six weeks, Xu visited scenic sites in the mountainous backwater of southwestern Guizhou. He finally reached Yunnan on 21 June. He spent the next six months sightseeing and visiting acquaintances in and around Yunnan Prefecture (Yunnan fu; modern Kunming), the provincial capital. The next three months were spent sightseeing south and east of the prefecture and the southwestern part of Guizhou. Xu Xiake finally reached Mount Chicken Foot on 25 January 1639.

—Translated by James M. Hargett

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Source: “Ku Jingwen Chanlü: Liushou youyin” (YJJZ, 2: 1381–82; YJ, 2:1150–51).