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Farewell


​Douglas Tai Dock Chun passed away on June 2, 2017.
His most recent work is displayed below.
It is comprised of 12 ancient poems (reproduced in Chinese and English below),
​11 of which are from this collection.
The large character, 神, is often translated as "spirit", "God", "deity", or "soul".
The 5 seals (clockwise from top left):


​1.

陳 Chun, Douglas' family name
帝 Emperor
鐸 Gong

黄 Huang, Janet’s family name
静 Quiet
娜 Elegance

2.

陳 Chun, family name
帝 Emperor
鐸 Gong

3.
​陳 Chun
鶴 Crane
振 Rising up with Spirit

4.

陳 Chun
鶴 Crane
​振 Rising up with Spirit

5.

陳 Chun
黄 Huang
静 Quiet
娜 Elegance

​
Picture

1. Carrying Water, Chopping Wood

日日事無別    In my daily life there are no other chores than
惟吾自偶諧    Those that happen to fall into my hands
頭頭非取捨    Nothing I choose, nothing reject.
處處沒張乖    Nowhere is there ado, nowhere a slip
朱紫誰爲號    I have no other emblems of my glory than
邱山絶塵埃    The mountains and hills without a spot of dust
神通並妙用    My magical power and spiritual exercise consists in
運水及搬柴    Carrying water and gathering firewood

2. Excerpt from "Oblivion" (#12, below)

澄心萬虞忘    Till my mind is cleansed in and out of all cares and idle thoughts

3. Stillness

十方同聚會    The ten directions converging
個個學無爲    Each learning to do nothing
此是選佛場    This is the hall of Buddha's training
心空及第歸    Mind's empty, all's finished

4. Mindfulness

春有百花秋有月    Spring has its hundred flowers, Autumn its moon
夏有涼風冬有雪    Summer has its cooling breezes, Winter its snow
若無閑事挂心頭    If you allow no idle concerns to weight on your heart
更是人間好時節    Your whole life will be one perennial good season

5. The Great Tao

大道無形    The Great Tao is without form
眞理無對    The Absolute is without opposite
等空不動    It is both empty and unmoving
非生死流    It is not within the flow of Samsara
三界不攝    The Three Realms do not contain it
非古夾今    It is not within past, future, or present

6. Oneness

彌勒眞彌勒    O Maitreya, O true Maitreya
分身千百億    Thou dividest the body into hundreds of thousands of million forms
時時示時人    Thus manifesting thyself to men of the world
時人自不識    But how they are ignorant of thee

7. Untitled gatha by Shan-hui

有物先天地    Something there is, prior to heaven and earth
無形本寂寥    Without form, without sound, all alone by itself
能爲萬象主    It has the power to control all the changing things
不逐四時凋    Yet it changes not in the course of the four seasons

8. Untitled gatha by Shan-hui

空手把鉏頭    Empty-handed, I hold a hoe
步行騎水牛    Walking on foot, I ride a buffalo
人在橋上過    Passing over a bridge I see
橋流水不流    The bridge flow but not the water

9. Beyond this World

通玄峯頂    Over the crest of the T'ung-hsuan-feng
不是人間    The human world is no more
心外無物    Nothing is outside the Mind
満目青山    And the eye is filled with green mountains

10. Mindfulness

行到水窮處    I stroll along the stream up to where it ends
坐看雲起時    I sit down watching the clouds as they begin to rise

11. Excerpt from "My Retreat in the Zhongnan Mountains"

偶然値林叟    By chance, I met an old man in the forest
談笑無還期    We talked and laughed so that I forgot to go home

​12. Oblivion (light gray text is absent)

幽鳥語如篁    A bird in a secluded grove sings like a flute
柳搖金線長    Willows sway gracefully with their golden threads
雲歸山谷静    The mountain valley grows the quieter as the clouds return
風送杏花香    A breeze brings along the fragrance of the apricot flowers
永日蕭然坐    For a whole day I have sat here encompassed by peace
澄心萬虞忘    Till my mind is cleansed in and out of all cares and idle thoughts
欲言言不及    I wish to tell you how I feel, but words fail me
林下好商量    If you come to this grove, we can compare notes