Karma

All things born of karma disappear when that karma is exhausted,
But where is this karma born?
From whence does the First Cause arise?
Here words and thoughts are of no avail.
I asked an old woman in the east about the matter
But she wasn't pleased,
And the old fellow in the west
Just frowned and left.
I wrote the problem on a rice cake
And gave it to a puppy
But even it wouldn't bite.
Realizing that such words are bad luck,
I blended life and death into a pill
And gave it to a weather-beaten skull.
The skull suddenly leaped up,
Singing and dancing for me:
A spellbinding ballad that spanned past, present, and future,
A marvelous dance that sported through the realm of samsara.
The skull covered everything very thoroughly:
I saw the moon set on Ch'ang-an and heard its midnight bells!

-Ryokan