Ten Poems on Living in Town in Zhongfeng Extensive Record

Abstract Translation 9 is a collection of ten poems about living in town. The “town” is said to be the major city Kaifeng, though Zhongfeng may never have been there. There is no mention in the biographical sources of Zhongfeng’s going to the city of Kaifeng. The poems state that there is no dharma apart from the visual forms of the lively town, that living in town is the closest thing to the real. The city can serve as the home of a Chan monk. Zhongfeng describes himself as “a mendicant without any plan.” The ascetic practitioner is satisfied with the town-living mode. Zhongfeng speaks of “a Chan summer rainy season retreat in the town marketplace.” The poems are about “the recluse in town.”