Cool Japanese Buddhist poem

Hello,

Just wanted to share a cool Buddhist poem a good friend in Seattle found recently, and posted on one his many website domains:

Serving the Shogun in the capitol,
stained by worldly dust,
I found no peace.

Now, straw hat pulled down,
I follow the river:
how fresh the sight of gulls across the sand!

Kodo (1370 – 1433)

Compare with an excellent quote from the The Earth-Store Bodhisattva Sutra, Chapter 4:

They [all sentient beings] revolve on the five paths of existence without one moment’s cessation, most likely continuing thus for countless kalpas [eons], in confusion, delusion, hindrance and difficulty like fish caught in nets in the vast streams, that, though escaping from such traps and freeing themselves temporarily, will soon become entangled in those nets again.

Enjoy!

Namu Amida Butsu