By Xuanzang (Translated by Lan Hua)
After unstinting effort
Of the human frame
To reach this mountain shelter
Where a few words
Suddenly discovered
Exceed the poetic realm
In a holy sutra
Inscribed in stone
The spirit’s music is performed
In the half empty mountain air
Composed In Western Paradise
Lan Hua is a writer and translator based in New York. His translations of Chinese poetry are available online at www.tangspirit.net and his own poetry is available online at lampoetry.blogspot.com