Four Seasons

Flowers in the spring,
In the summer, cool breezes.
Leaves in the fall,
In the winter, pure snow.

Is the world throwing me away?
Am I throwing away the world?
I lie around in the dharma room.
I don't care about anything.

White clouds floating in the sky.
Clear water flowing down the mountain,
The wind through the pagoda—
I surrender my whole life to them.

—From Bone of Space: Poems by Zen Master Seung Sahn, (c) Primary Point Press, 1992