Heaven, Immortals, men, and ghosts
all love and respect tea—
I realize tea’s nature
is a most brilliant mystery.
Shenneng listed green tea
in his Book of Food;
since his enduring name
the tea has been compared to cream
and the sweet dew of heaven.
*
Tea blossom petals,
snowy-pure, white as the Immortal
of Kushe Mountain—
the lustrous heart
of the pistil and stamen
yellow as the golden light
of nirvana.
Midnight dew
washes clean
the jade-green twigs
water from morning fog
condenses
on the narrowly-curved leaves,
the leaves, like sparrows’ tongues.
*
The creator of mandarin orange trees
blessed another plant with virtues.
The creator
empowered the tea tree
to sprout deep roots
only in southern soils.
The tea tree’s lush leaves
may freeze from snow
but evergreen
the tree endures winter—
its white flowers washed with frost
glisten in autumn
bountifully.
*
Nine difficulties must be overcome
and four fragrances preserved—
how can I teach you
who sit in Zen
on Floating Jade Hill?
To keep the four fragrances intact
one should not neglect
the nine difficulties.
If your leaves attain a genuine flavor,
they will be given
to the Palace of the King.
*
A virtuous monk
wanted to preserve his blessed tea
on a peak of Dream Mountain.
The monk grew five bags of tea
and made two blends
for the Emperor:
Auspicious Blessings of Gold
and The Saint of Willow Flowers.
Published in Cider Press Review, Volume 24, Issue 2.
Ian Haight’s collection of poetry, Celadon, won Unicorn Press’ First Book Prize. He is the editor of Zen Questions and Answers from Korea, and with T’ae-yong Hŏ, he is the co-translator of Borderland Roads: Selected Poems of Kyun Hŏ and Magnolia and Lotus: Selected Poems of Hyesim—finalist for ALTA’s Stryk Prize—all from White Pine Press. Other awards include Ninth Letter’s Literary Award in Translation, and grants from the Daesan Foundation, the Korea Literary Translation Institute, and the Baroboin Buddhist Foundation.
Ch’oŭi (1786-1866) was a Korean Buddhist monk given a traditional Confucian education, making him a uniquely trained scholar of his period. Ch’oŭi is considered one of the first pre-eminent experts on the subject of green tea in Korea.
T’ae-yong Hŏ has been awarded translation grants from the Daesan Foundation and Korea Literature Translation Institute. With Ian Haight, he is the co-translator of Borderland Roads: Selected Poems of Kyun Hŏ and Magnolia and Lotus: Selected Poems of Hyesim. Working from the original classical Korean, T’ae-yong’s translations of Korean poetry have appeared in Runes, New Orleans Review, and Atlanta Review.
See all items about Ian Haight
Visit Ian Haight’s contributors page.
See all items about Ch’oŭi
Visit Ch’oŭi’s contributors page.
