Time, much as a river,
Has let twenty years flow by.
People change. Things cease to be.
Only Buddhism’s roots and sprouts,
Like the waters of the Ganges,
Have been able to
Span ancient to present times.
This transmission from East to West
Is perceived as both historic and as a current event.
Here,
Beneath a thousand peaks, Gold Buddha Monastery,
Making purposeful use of
These twenty years’ currents and eddies,
Has recorded historic events, telling of
These mountains’ historic relevance,
This monastery’s historic significance,
The main street’s historic path, and
So many people’s historic connections.
All these stories,
Thus collected, can
Span ancient to present times.
This transmission from East to West
Is perceived as both historic and as a current event.
The linking of these recorded events
Can guide us, teaching us
with the wondrous wheel of Dharma how to
end birth and death, and
understand that nothing ever comes into being.