Hello my friends,

This month we are taking a wee break from Shantideva.  I know, I know, I can hear you begging for more of the Bodhicharyavatara.  I feel it too.  But we have to balance our chakras, we can’t eat figgy pudding every day of the week.  For April, which as we all know is Poetry Month, we are going to look at some Buddhist poets.  I’m going to start with one by Jane Hirshfield.

Reading Chinese Poetry Before Dawn

Sleepless again, 
I get up. 
A cold rain 
beats at the windows. 
Holding my coffee, 
I ponder Tu Fu’s 
overturned wine glass. 
At his window, snow, 
twelve hundred years fallen;
under his hand, 
black ink not yet dry. 
‘Letters are useless,’ it reads. 
The poet is old, alone, 
his woodstove is empty. 
The fame of centuries 
casts off no heat. 
In his verse, I know, 
is a discipline 
lost to translation; 
here, only the blizzard remains.

Jane is in dialogue with Tu Fu, a Chinese poet writing around 770 CE.  His Buddhism was integrated with the Chinese Taoist religion, and that Ch’an tradition developed into Japanese Zen.  Which in turn has influenced both Thich Nhat Hanh and our friend Jane.

For today’s discussion, I want to show you that Jane’s poem comes out of a heritage, a lineage across twelve centuries or more.  However, it is not as simple as saying – Jane has been influenced by the poets of the Chinese Classical Era, around 600-800 CE.  In order for us to see the connections, we start with Ezra Pound.  American poetry was transformed in the 1920s when Pound created radical translations of classical Chinese poetry.  He liberated these poems from the pre-existing English language straight-jacket.  Here is one of his revolutionary translations:

Separation on the River Kiang

Ko-Jin goes west from Ko-kaku-ro,
The smoke-flowers are blurred over the river.
His lone sail blots the far sky.
And now I see only the river,
      The long Kiang, reaching heaven.

In this poem, and a handful of others, Pound echoed the spare language of the Chinese, the parallels and the piling on of one image after another, for the first time in the English language.

Where earlier English and American translations had attempted to make the ancient Ch’an poets sound like 19th century English poets, Pound sought to capture the simplicity, the stark placement of one image in parallel to another, without rhyme or meter.  I will give you an example.  Here is a 1919 translation of a poem by Wang Wei.

The Form of the Deer

So lone seem the hills; there is no one in sight there.
But whence is the echo of voices I hear?
The rays of the sunset pierce slanting the forest,
And in their reflection green mosses appear.

As you can see, the translator – WJB Fletcher – is taking the nouns and verbs of the original, and fitting them into a English rhyme and meter scheme typical of his time.  The result was poetry that did not capture the spare and limpid beauty of the original.  All that changed when Pound published “Cathay.”

In twentieth century America, younger poets took up the challenge issued by Pound, each generation dancing its own tango with the ancient Chinese poets.  Here is Kenneth Rexroth’s version of the poem we saw translated by Fletcher.

Deep In the Mountain Wilderness

Deep in the mountain wilderness
Where nobody ever comes
Only once in a great while
Something like the sound of a far off voice,
The low rays of the sun
Slip through the dark forest,
And gleam again on the shadowy moss.

Because I don’t read Chinese, I have no idea whether the “feel” of this translation resembles the “feel” of the original, but I do know that it floats in a way that translations before Pound did not.

Now, continuing the tradition of Chinese influence, there are poets writing not translations but original poems in dialogue with the Classical Chinese poets.  I wasn’t able to find the Tu Fu poem that Jane was referencing in “Reading Chinese Poetry Before Dawn”, but here is another one of his that could, in another universe, be a response to hers.

Rain on a Spring Night

Congratulations, rain
you know when to fall

coming at night, quiet
walking in the wind

making sure things
get good and wet

the clouds hang dark
over country roads

there’s one light from a boat
coming downriver

in the morning
everything’s dripping

red flowers
everywhere

The post American Zen first appeared on Unitarian Universalist Church of Worcester.

The post The Message – April 14, 2026 first appeared on Unitarian Universalist Church of Worcester.

Photo of the Week #2

Photo of the Week #3

Photo of the Week #4

Photo of the Week #5

Photo of the Week #6

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The Book Group will meet next on Wednesday, May 13th at 7 PM in Classroom 3.   We will discuss Nadia Hashimi’s “The Pearl That Broke Its Shell.”   

Using an ancient custom, a young woman tries to save her sisters..

You’re welcome if you haven’t finished the book, and even if you’ve not read it but want to listen in on the discussion.

Our books include fiction and non-fiction and are chosen by our members. Contact the Book Club at bookgroup@uucworcester.org if you’re interested in joining us and to get a copy of the current reading list. All readers are welcome.

The post UUCW Book Group – “The Pearl That Broke Its Shell” – May 13, 2026, 7 – 8:30 PM first appeared on Unitarian Universalist Church of Worcester.

Join us this Sunday April 19th at 10 am in a  One Room experience for grades 1 and up.  Hang out with Robin and Carole as we do some activities based on this beautiful story “When You Find A Hope” written by Allie Millington, illustrated by Anne Lambert

“Experience the improbable beauty of a shattered hope born anew in this magical tale about a young girl, a tree full of hopes, and the power of perseverance.”  Spirit Play (pre-k and k) will meet in their regular class.

Robin Mitzcavitch, Director of Religious Exploration

The post Religious Exploration Program News – Sunday, April 19, 2026 first appeared on Unitarian Universalist Church of Worcester.

MA Rainbow Families Free Community Clothing Swap on April 18th, from 1:30-4:30 pm. Clothing Donations are accepted at the Swap!

The post Massachusetts Rainbow Families Community Clothing Swap first appeared on Unitarian Universalist Church of Worcester.

Motorcycle Ride and Celebration in memory of the life of Office Admin Jen Landry’s nephew Edward. Please join us!

The post Edward’s Ride for Mental Health Awareness – May 16, Gardner Elks Lodge, Gardner MA first appeared on Unitarian Universalist Church of Worcester.

Calling All Cardboard! The Garden-On Team is putting out another call for corrugated cardboard. Please drop off any flattened corrugated cardboard boxes out back, to the right of the shed. If you can, please remove any tape, labels and staples.

Thank you!

The post Garden-On Team News – Corrugated Cardboard Collection for Native Plant Beds first appeared on Unitarian Universalist Church of Worcester.

Throughout the month of April, Shenanigans the Gnome will be hiding in different spots around the building, popping up somewhere new each week.

Keep a close eye out—it’s small, sneaky, and loves a good hiding place! Kiddos who find Shenanigans are invited to share it’s location with Robin, Aaron, or Dee and will receive a small prize.

We hope this simple activity brings a bit of fun, curiosity, and lighthearted adventure to your time in our community.

Happy hunting!

The post Have You Spotted Shenanigans? first appeared on Unitarian Universalist Church of Worcester.

Please join Social Threads this Sunday April 26th 1:30-5pm in the Fellowship Hall. Hope you can come visit! All are welcome! Questions?  Email us at  Socialthreads.quilting@gmail.com

The post Social Threads Quilting and Sewing Community – Sunday April 26, 1:30 – 5 pm first appeared on Unitarian Universalist Church of Worcester.