An Anthology of Poetry by Buddhist Nuns of Late Imperial China

Beata Grant is Professor Emerita of Chinese and Religious Studies at Washington University in St. Louis. Her previous books include The Red Brush: Women Writers of Imperial China (with Wilt Idema), Eminent Nuns: Women Chan Masters of Seventeenth-Century China, Escape from Blood Pond Hell: The Tales of Mulian and Woman Huang (with Wilt Idema), and Zen Echoes: Classic Koans with Verse Commentaries by Three Female Chan Masters.

Introduction

The Poems
Wulian
After the Rain

An Autumn Night: Written in the Moment

Jieshi
Early Morning
Qingming

Miaoni
Spring Night

The Girl Nun from Yan
Gatha

Xingkong
Reflecting on Myself

Mojing
Going by Way of Tiger Hill

Jueqing
Poem Inscribed on a Convent Wall

Wuwei
Deathbed Gatha

Jiyin
Dharma Hall Gatha

Deyin
Early Autumn: A Distant Evening View
Song of Planting Bamboo
Lady Huang Jieling Came to Stay at My Mountain Boudoir, Written in the Moment

Derong
Pitying the Caged Bird Who is Just Like Me
Plum Blossom

Jingming
Improvised Dharma Instructions to My Disciples

Jingyin
Going to See Huang Yuanjie but Not Finding Her In

Dumu Jin'gang
Gatha
Gatha
Deathbed Gatha

Xiang'an Yinhui
Gatha: Eating Bamboo Shoots
Deshan Carries His Bowl

Miaohui
Passing By the Tomb of Tenth Daughter Ma
Drinking on Flower-Raining Terrace, I Was Assigned "Falling Leaves" as the Topic for a Poem

Daoyuan
Seated Meditation: Reflections

Sengjian
Early Summer
The Autumn Flowering Crabapple Tree

Shenyi
A Dream Journey to Mount Tiantai
Crossing Again the Hengyun Mountain, Thinking of Jingwei

Zaisheng
Composed in Early Spring
Winter's Day
Narrating My Feelings on a Winter's Night

Jingwei
The Emerald Sea
Random Thoughts on Living in the Country
Facing the Moon on an Autumn Night
Sitting at Night

Shangjian Huizong
Village Life
Thoughts on Living in Seclusion
A Friend from the Inner Chambers Comes to Visit: Remembering Old Times
Heartfelt Recollections

Wugou
Writing of My Feelings (Version 1)
Writing of My Feelings (Version 2)
Climbing the Mountain after the Snow

Chaoyi
Deathbed Gatha

Mingxuan Wuzhen
Autumn Night
Falling Leaves
Inscribed on a Ying Stone

Weiji Xingzhi
Ode to the Honeybees
Living in the Mountains
Listening to the Geese

Jingnuo Chaoyue
Song of the Ancient Plum Trees
Passing by Yongqing Monastery, I Came Upon Its Peonies and Wrote These
For Lady Yang
A Celebration in Verse of the Autumn Orchid

Chaoyan Miyin
Self-Encomium

Yizhen
Mid-Autumn
Younger Sister Yuying and I Planned to Meet on the Ninth Day, But She Didn't Arrive
Living in the Mountains Among Falling Leaves
Matching the Rhymes of "Cloud Hermitage"

Shangxin
Ice

Yuanduan Yufu
My Study: An Impromptu Verse

Miaohui
Dawn Sitting at Bo're Convent

Shiyan
Recalling a Dream
Swallows
Rising at Dawn: An Expression of Feelings
A Reply to Sixth Elder Sister Ruixian

Wanxian
Inside the Convent: Reflections

Lianhua Kedu
Gatha

Yinyue Xinglin
In the MountainsThe Three Blows
Gatha
When Sansheng Saw People He Came Out, When Xinghua Saw People He Did Not

Ansheng
Ode to the Silkworm
Mourning Zhanna

Zhuanzheng
Deathbed Gatha

Zhisheng
Ode to the Snow
The Chrysanthemum

Deri
Early Autumn
Feelings by a Rainy Window

Deyue
On an Autumn Night Listening to the Crickets

Zhiyuan
A Lament for Peng E

Qiyuan Xinggang
The First Month of Summer Retreat: A Song of Leisure
Dharma Instructions for Mingyuan
Dharma Instructions for Person of the Way Xu Chaogu
Addressing the Congregation on My Birthday
Matching Jiang Yundu's "Autumn Pavilion Song"
Ode to the Plum Blossom

Yigong Chaoke
Grieving for My Master
Climbing up to a Thatched Hut on Lingyin and Gazing at Feilai Peak: An Impromptu Poem

Yikui Chaochen
Five Gathas: Sitting in Meditation (To a Previous Tune)
To a Previous Tune
Just Before Parting from My Elder Brothers
Bidding Farewell to the Lay Dharma-Protectors of Meixi
Of My Feelings after Visiting the Nun Weiji from Xiongsheng and Not Finding Her In
Hymn: The Honeycomb
In Praise of the Venerable Bamboo (To a Previous Tune)
On the Fifteenth of the Twelfth Lunar Month After the Snow, Returning Home by Boat I
Improvised This Poem
Presented to Chan Master Zhuying
Inside my Boat on My Return Home to Dongting: An Impromptu Poem
Deathbed Gatha

Zukui Xuanfu
An Ode to Honeybees
An Ode to Fireworks
Breaking off a Plum Branch to Offer to the Buddha
To Myself
A Leisurely Visit to an Ancient Temple
Returning to the Mountain, I Cross the Lake
Returning to the Mountains, I Laugh at Myself
A Leisurely Stroll on a Moonlit Night
Traveling by Boat on a Winter Day
In Search of Plum Blossoms
Dharma Instructions for Practitioner Keren Taking up Residence in a Hermitage
Living in the Mountains: An Impromptu Poem
Reading the Recorded Sayings of Layman Pang
Leaving My Old Retreat on Dongting
The Moon in the Water: A Gatha
My Aspirations
Dharma Instructions for Person of the Way Xunji
To Layman Zhao Fengchu (second of two verses)
The Road is Hard (To the Tune "Immortals by the River")
Summer Rest on East Mountain
Song of the Twelve Hours of the Day
Living in the Mountains: Miscellaneous Gathas
Thoughts

Baochi Xuanzong
Matching the Ten Verses of Chan Master Cishou Huaiyin's "Cloud Dispelling Terrace"
Silk-embroidered Peonies
Harmonizing with Temple Manager Teacher Shao's "Mastering Yangqi's Primary Strategy": Four Verses
Watching the Snow from Nanzhou's Phoenix Rising Tower
Dharma Instructions for Person of the Way Liyan

Jizong Xingche
Living the Nanyue Mountains: Miscellaneous Verses
Mist and Clouds Peak
Gods and Immortals Grotto
Heavenly Terrace Temple
Mount Zhong's Great Illumination Temple
The Great Yang Spring
The Second Month of Autumn: A Parting Poem
Enjoying the Snow on New Year's Day
My Aspirations
Written to Rhymes by the Layman of Zhoukui Hermitage
Visiting the Monk of Nanyue on His Sickbed: Two Poems
To Chan Elder Dharma Brother Zaisheng on Her Fiftieth Birthday
At the Zhixi Cloister on Hidden Lake, Presented to Chan Master Daoming
Presented to Layman Xu Jingke
Having Borrowed a Meditation Hut from Chan Practitioner Zhubing, I Wrote a Poem to Present to Her
A Farewell Poem for Person of the Way Yan Duoli
New Year's Eve of the Year Wuxu (1658)
Composed for Layman Gu Mengdiao on His Sixtieth Birthday
On an Autumn Day, Thinking of My Mother
Dharma Instructions to the Lay Assembly: Four Gathas

Ziyong Chengru
A Bell Shattered After Being Struck and I Was Moved to Compose a Gatha
Upon Hearing the Sound of Wood Being Chopped
Ode to the Snow
Two Verses: Living in the Mountains
Thoughts in the Bingzi Year (1696)
An Excursion to the Western Hills
Gatha: Boarding My Boat
Early Autumn Sentiments
To My Elder Dharma Brother Ruru
Asking Questions of the Masters: Four Gathas
A Miscellaneous Chant
Walking Through the Rice Paddies, I Casually Composed This Gatha
Eight Miscellaneous Gathas (selection of three)
Entrusting Head Student Zhi with Robes and Whisk, I Composed This Gatha

Mingxiu
Seeing Off Relatives, Bowing to My Master, and Taking the Vows
My Inscription for a Painting of West Lake Requested While Staying at My Convent in Jingzhou

Shuxia
In Deep Autumn, Returning to My Hometown; in Sixth Uncle's Garden Pavilion, Standing in Front of the Chrysanthemums
To the Tune "Immortal by the River" Composed While on a Boat
To the Tune "Bodhisattva Barbarian": A Parting Poem

Wuqing
Feelings

Huiji
Reply to Lady Gioro Heseri

Lianghai Ru'de
Poems of the Pure Land
Untitled Verses
Written in Imitation of an Ancient Style: The Filial Girl Lu of Pinghu
Buddha-Recitation (Selections from a Series of Forty-Eight Poems)

Abbreviations

Bibliography

Index of Sources