"Encouranging word" by Zen Master Guihan

some day you wiil die

Lying on your sick bed

about to breathe your last,

you will be assailed by every kind of pain



Your mind will be filled

with fears and anxieties

and you wiil not know

what to do or where to go


Only then you will realise that

you have not practiced well

(matter, sensations, conceptions,

impulses and consciousness)

and the four elements in you

wiil quickly disintegrate

and your consciousness will be pulled

wherever you ancient

twisted karma leads it.


Impermanence

does not hesitate


Death

will not wait



You will not be able

to extend your life

by even a second


How many thousands more times

will you have to pass through

the gates of birth and death


If these words are challenging,

even insulting,

let them be an encouragement

for you to change


Practice

heroically


Do not accumulate

unnecessary possesions


Don't give up


Still your mind

end wrond perceptions,

concentrate, and do not run

after the objects of your senses


Practice diligently


Be determined not let your days

and months pass by wastefully