/lit/ - Literature

>>15373265
People like to make things more complicated than they need to be. Start with meditation, maybe find a teacher you like, shop around. Let yourself feel the truth before you read about it. That way, you can better distinguish what is and isn't true, based off your experience and not just the words of others. If you do just want something to read, I'd start with the the earliest stuff you can get. That's my rule for any religion really, and also my biggest issue with many modern views of Buddhism. I'm no master of the subject, but I think the oldest surviving texts we have are all 100-200 years after Shakyamuni. After that much time, it's hard for me to be confident that those are THE words of The Buddha, but then again, it doesn't really matter. I really like reading Zen and Tibetan stuff myself. Take it all with a grain of salt. The path you want to walk is very personal and solitary.

English is not my first language, so I would like some help to understand this poem by Zen master Hakuin Ekaku:

You no sooner attain the great void
Than body and mind are lost together.
Heaven and Hell -- a straw.
The Buddha-realm, Pandemonium -- shambles.
Listen: a nightingale strains her voice, serenading the snow.
Look: a tortoise wearing a sword climbs the lampstand.
Should you desire the great tranquility,
Prepare to sweat white beads.

I want to know what the word: "shambles" mean. What are some synonyms for it?

Also, this line:

>Look: a tortoise wearing a sword climbs the lampstand.

Is he talking about a turtle? I dont quite understand this line.

Also: Zen poetry thread.