Saturday, June 20, 2009

zen no-mind and beowulf

"The hero observed that swamp-thing from hell,
the tarn-hag in all her terrible strength,
then heaved his war-sword and swung his arm:
the decorated blade came down ringing
and singing on her head. But he soon found
his battle-torch extinguished; the shining blade
refused to bite. It spared her and failed
the man in his need. It had gone through many
hand-to-hand fights, had hewed the armor
and helmets of the doomed, but here at last
the fabulous powers of that heirloom failed.

Hygelac's kinsman kept thinking about
his name and fame: he never lost heart.
Then, in a fury, he flung his sword away.
The keen, inlaid worm-loop-patterned steel
was hurled to the ground: he would have to rely
on the might of his arm. So must a man do
who intends to gain enduring glory
in a combat. Life doesn't cost him a thought."
-- Beowulf (Translated by Seamus Heaney)

The sword matters at first. That fails.
Then pride matters, name and fame.
That gives way to fury which provides adrenaline,
but that is not enough. Then he relies on himself
and the might of his arm. He's getting there.
His intention to gain glory drops away
and he finally moves to the realm of no-thought,
which is the same as the realm of heart-mind.
At that point, the battle outcome is decided.
To external eyes, all appears hopeless.
Inner vision reveals that the fearsome opponent,
the tarn-hag, is now as one dead.

1 comment:

  1. Curious: the battle of Evermore...

    That gloriously-esteemed sword that faithfully accompanies its wielder bears the word "Logos" upon its blinding surface. Surely, it can conquer that dark, terrible tarn-hag—the Mythos—that "swamp-thing from hell." Yet the treasured heirloom, honed to a piercing sharpness during the Age of Reason, failed to exact even a single cut. The tarn-hag relentlessly stands...

    The warrior encounters an apparent impasse, yet transforms that into a threshold by discarding his impotent sword in favor of pure being—the silent realm of no-thought. Stepping across, the warrior moves outside time and space. Where, now, is the warrior? Where, now, is the tarn-hag? The frothing spectators scornfully turn away...

    --MCB

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