”The Far-Off Journey” -- written in the 3rd century BCE by Qu Yuan -- is a sublime example of Taoist mystical poetry. Couched in terms of Inner Alchemy and Taoist cosmology, it expresses longing, inspiration and the mystical flight of bodymind into regions of experience which, again and again, challenge the boundary between literal and metaphorical truth, offering a taste of the potency and beauty of symbolic language, to describe and facilitate spiritual unfolding.
Enjoy!
Saddened by the hardships of the common world,
How I wish to rise up and travel ways far-off!
My own strength is feeble; there is no support --
?What could I stride on to float up and away?
Encountering nothing but foulness and defilement,
I am alone and miserable – who could I talk to?
? At night I lie restless, never sleeping,
? My soul roving about till the approach of dawn.
Thinking of the infinity of heaven and of earth,
? I cry with the eternal toil of human life.
? People of the past I cannot reach;
? People of the future I will never know.
Pacing with restlessness, I yearn to get away,
?Confused and close to madness, I long for the eternal.
?My mind goes wild, strays off without control;
?My heart melancholy, I am ever sadder.
Then suddenly my spirit, off, never to come back.
?My body, like a withered tree, left behind alone.
I look within, try to get back my grip,
?To find the place where life’s energy arises:
?All vastly empty and tranquil, there is serenity.
? Quietly in non-action, spontaneous truth is found.
I hear how Master Redpine cleansed the world’s defilements
?And wish to follow the model he has left.
Honoring the blessed virtue of the perfected,
? I admire all who in the past have become immortal.
?Taking off in a transformation, they were never seen,
?While still their name and nature continue on and on.
Oh, how Fu Yue went to live among the stars!
?How Han Zhong Succeeded to realize the One!
? Oh, for the body to slowly fade off in the distance --
?To leave the human crowd behind, to vanish so completely!
Oh, to follow the flow of energy, rising ever upward --
?Swift as the spirit, wondrous as a ghost!
? To see thaw rolled get hazy, look back from far-off --
?All dazzling essence, flashing back and forth!
Oh, to go away from all the dust to greater purity --
?Never to turn back to old home!
?To escape all the afflictions and never fear again --
?None in the world knows how this truly is!
And here I am, afraid of the passing of the seasons,
?With every rising of the sun on its westward move.
?A subtle frost descends, sinking ever downward,
? I fear my fragrant freshness will fade all too soon.
Oh, to leave it all for free and easy journey
?Through years eternal that will never end!
?Here, who would enjoy with me my remaining fragrance,
?Walk, through the country air and share my depth with me?
Gaoyang, my hero, is removed ever farther,
?Where will this life, so lonely, lead me to?
Then again, as spring and autumn hurry,
?How can I always stay in my old home?
? The Yellow Emperor cannot become my model,
?But I can follow Jumping Wang to please myself.
So I eat the six energies and drink the nightly dew,
? Rinse my mouth with yang itself and swallow morning light.
?Guarding the purity of the spirit light within,
? I absorb essence and energy, drive out all that’s coarse.
Wandering in the wake of the gentle wind,
?I reach the Southern Nest without a single stop.
?I meet with Master Wang and pause to speak to him,
?Inquire about the harmony and virtue of the One.
‘The Tao can only be received,’ he says,
? ‘It never can be given.
? ‘So small that it has no within,
?‘So big it has no bounds.
‘No twists at all inside your soul,
? ‘And it will come spontaneously.
? ‘Focus on energy and open up to spirit --
?‘Let them grow in you at the midnight hour.
‘Wait for the Tao in emptiness,
?‘Clear even of non-action.
? ‘All living species rise from this,
? ‘It is the Gate of Virtue.’
Having heard this precious teaching, I move on,
Swiftly getting to wherever I am going.
I meet the winged ones on Cinnabar Hill,
Tarry in the old land of No-Death.
In the morning I wash my hair in the Sun’s Own Valley;
At night I rest at the Ninefold Yang.
I sip the subtle fluid of the Flying Spring
And hold the shining brightness of the Glittering Gem.
My face, like jade, is flushed with radiant color;
My pure essence is starting to grow strong.
My solid body dissolving into softness,
My spirit’s ever subtler and more unrestrained.
How fine the fiery virtue of the Southern Land!
How lovely the winter blooming of the Cassia Tree!
How desolate the mountains with no beasts upon them!
How solitary the wilderness with not a single man!
Holding to my sparkling soul, I climb to the empyrean;
Clinging to the floating clouds, I ride up further high.
I order heaven’s gate-keeper to open up the locks;
Pushing the sacred portals wide, he lets me look ahead.
I call upon the Rain God then to lead the onward way,
Ask him to guide me to Great Tenuity.
I reach the walls of Twofold Yang and the Imperial Palace,
Meet the Week Star and inspect the Clear Metropolis.
In the morning I set off from the Court of Heaven,
Arrive at night already at the Subtle Village.
Marshalling a whole ten thousand chariots,
I rise with them in slow and grand procession.
Harnessing eight dragons, coiling and in twists,
I bear a cloudy banner flapping in the wind.
I set up a bright standard, rainbow-made,
Five colors dazzling, so variegated.
The yoke-horses bow and toss their heads in splendor;
The trace-horses arch and curve with pride.
Confusion reigns and mixed disorder,
As the colorful and overflowing train sets out.
Continued On Page Two
Enjoy!
The Far-Off Journey (Yuanyou) by Qu Yuan
Saddened by the hardships of the common world,
How I wish to rise up and travel ways far-off!
My own strength is feeble; there is no support --
?What could I stride on to float up and away?
Encountering nothing but foulness and defilement,
I am alone and miserable – who could I talk to?
? At night I lie restless, never sleeping,
? My soul roving about till the approach of dawn.
Thinking of the infinity of heaven and of earth,
? I cry with the eternal toil of human life.
? People of the past I cannot reach;
? People of the future I will never know.
Pacing with restlessness, I yearn to get away,
?Confused and close to madness, I long for the eternal.
?My mind goes wild, strays off without control;
?My heart melancholy, I am ever sadder.
Then suddenly my spirit, off, never to come back.
?My body, like a withered tree, left behind alone.
I look within, try to get back my grip,
?To find the place where life’s energy arises:
?All vastly empty and tranquil, there is serenity.
? Quietly in non-action, spontaneous truth is found.
I hear how Master Redpine cleansed the world’s defilements
?And wish to follow the model he has left.
Honoring the blessed virtue of the perfected,
? I admire all who in the past have become immortal.
?Taking off in a transformation, they were never seen,
?While still their name and nature continue on and on.
Oh, how Fu Yue went to live among the stars!
?How Han Zhong Succeeded to realize the One!
? Oh, for the body to slowly fade off in the distance --
?To leave the human crowd behind, to vanish so completely!
Oh, to follow the flow of energy, rising ever upward --
?Swift as the spirit, wondrous as a ghost!
? To see thaw rolled get hazy, look back from far-off --
?All dazzling essence, flashing back and forth!
Oh, to go away from all the dust to greater purity --
?Never to turn back to old home!
?To escape all the afflictions and never fear again --
?None in the world knows how this truly is!
And here I am, afraid of the passing of the seasons,
?With every rising of the sun on its westward move.
?A subtle frost descends, sinking ever downward,
? I fear my fragrant freshness will fade all too soon.
Oh, to leave it all for free and easy journey
?Through years eternal that will never end!
?Here, who would enjoy with me my remaining fragrance,
?Walk, through the country air and share my depth with me?
Gaoyang, my hero, is removed ever farther,
?Where will this life, so lonely, lead me to?
Then again, as spring and autumn hurry,
?How can I always stay in my old home?
? The Yellow Emperor cannot become my model,
?But I can follow Jumping Wang to please myself.
So I eat the six energies and drink the nightly dew,
? Rinse my mouth with yang itself and swallow morning light.
?Guarding the purity of the spirit light within,
? I absorb essence and energy, drive out all that’s coarse.
Wandering in the wake of the gentle wind,
?I reach the Southern Nest without a single stop.
?I meet with Master Wang and pause to speak to him,
?Inquire about the harmony and virtue of the One.
‘The Tao can only be received,’ he says,
? ‘It never can be given.
? ‘So small that it has no within,
?‘So big it has no bounds.
‘No twists at all inside your soul,
? ‘And it will come spontaneously.
? ‘Focus on energy and open up to spirit --
?‘Let them grow in you at the midnight hour.
‘Wait for the Tao in emptiness,
?‘Clear even of non-action.
? ‘All living species rise from this,
? ‘It is the Gate of Virtue.’
Having heard this precious teaching, I move on,
Swiftly getting to wherever I am going.
I meet the winged ones on Cinnabar Hill,
Tarry in the old land of No-Death.
In the morning I wash my hair in the Sun’s Own Valley;
At night I rest at the Ninefold Yang.
I sip the subtle fluid of the Flying Spring
And hold the shining brightness of the Glittering Gem.
My face, like jade, is flushed with radiant color;
My pure essence is starting to grow strong.
My solid body dissolving into softness,
My spirit’s ever subtler and more unrestrained.
How fine the fiery virtue of the Southern Land!
How lovely the winter blooming of the Cassia Tree!
How desolate the mountains with no beasts upon them!
How solitary the wilderness with not a single man!
Holding to my sparkling soul, I climb to the empyrean;
Clinging to the floating clouds, I ride up further high.
I order heaven’s gate-keeper to open up the locks;
Pushing the sacred portals wide, he lets me look ahead.
I call upon the Rain God then to lead the onward way,
Ask him to guide me to Great Tenuity.
I reach the walls of Twofold Yang and the Imperial Palace,
Meet the Week Star and inspect the Clear Metropolis.
In the morning I set off from the Court of Heaven,
Arrive at night already at the Subtle Village.
Marshalling a whole ten thousand chariots,
I rise with them in slow and grand procession.
Harnessing eight dragons, coiling and in twists,
I bear a cloudy banner flapping in the wind.
I set up a bright standard, rainbow-made,
Five colors dazzling, so variegated.
The yoke-horses bow and toss their heads in splendor;
The trace-horses arch and curve with pride.
Confusion reigns and mixed disorder,
As the colorful and overflowing train sets out.
Continued On Page Two
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