Chia Tay (thơ của HT Thích Đồng Bổn)

(Thơ của TK Thích Đồng Bổn, bút danh: Quê Chiều, Chiêu Đề, Thôi Kệ, Tát Bà Ha, Ta Bà Hát)

Farewell

Parting ways, I step onto the long road ahead,
Choosing my future with steady resolve.
Seeking a mind of optimism and clarity
For to depend on others is a thousand hidden dangers.

Parting ways, leaving behind anger and delusion,
Drawing nearer each day to the vow of compassion.
No longer burdened by worries of tomorrow or yesterday
Peace is clearly found right beneath one’s own feet.

Parting ways, understanding the law of dependent arising:
Coming and going, gathering and dispersing, these bring suffering.
Through countless cycles of rebirth,
The tangled threads of affection meet only to part again.

Parting ways, though karma still follows along;
Do not bind one another with attachment.
The realm of love is often filled with sorrow
Taking refuge in the Buddha, tomorrow grief will cease.

Parting ways, returning to the original source,
Bathing in the cool pond to cleanse the restless mind.
Listening to birds singing the Dharma’s melody,
And the stream echoing endless tones that dissolve all doubt.

Parting ways, yet not truly separation;
We shall meet again, why feel sorrow?
This body of the four elements is empty by nature;
What is there that can truly endure?

Parting ways, recognizing the rare opportunity
Do not prolong suffering within birth and death.
In the boundless sky of freedom and ease,
A traveler beyond the world leaves only a fleeting shadow.

Parting ways, entering the place of stillness,
Delighting in moon, wind, water, and quiet hills.
Bathing in the mist of silent mountains,
Like clouds appearing and disappearing along the path of the mind.

Parting ways, will there be an echo in return?
At the gate of the profound and wondrous Dharma realm,
Whether here or somewhere else,
All is the same, why trouble ourselves with sorrow?

Chiêu Đề, 5 February 2026

Translated into English by Ven. Thich Nguyen Tang