गते गते पारगते पारसंगते बोधि स्वाहा
Gate gate paragate parasamgate bodhi svaha *
Gone, gone, completely gone
Gone to the otherside, the farthest shore
Awakening
Alone,alone, completely alone
Sighing waves, blank sands blow
Seagulls wheel in the emptiness of sky
Sadness and sadness, deepest sadness,
Separation, awakening my heart,
Opening in tears
Around, around, all the way round
Salt sea washes, confused and crashing
Against itself, in turbulence, impassable
Oversea sun sets
Somewhere far away a lotus opens to greet her
Exposing the golden jewel,
Sun to sun, hidden treasure,
Earth echo of the star song,
Perfumed light and perfection
From the deepest dark beneath depths
*This is the mantra from the end of the Heart Sutra.
Nobody really knows what it means, but it is said
to be one of the most powerful mantras of all.
The first verse of the poem is a literal translation of it,
or at least as far as one can translate it, because the
Sanskrit grammar is endlessly debatable by the
learned in such things.
The Dalai Lama’s translation says
“go, go, go beyond, go thoroughly beyond, and establish yourself in enlightenment”.
Text and photo ©2016 Unjay
