鐔津文集 12.26

12.26

The atmosphere of West Lake cannot be compared to other places: morning radiance and evening mists, shadowy and clear-glistening, never failing to be fine. Mountain ridges and storied pavilions intertwine in gold and emerald to dazzle the eyes. Lotus flowers tussle with the wind, their fragrance scattering in all four directions; fragrant and gentle, a momentary glance makes one feel as if in an otherworldly realm. However, whether the human mind is pure or turbid responds to external things in just this way; how could a practitioner of the Dao fail to choose where he dwells? The Superior Man Quan intones sutras, chants poems, practices the cursive calligraphy of sages, and has opened up the Lotus Fragrance Pavilion, utilizing the lake scenery to assist his pure mind. His aspiration to admire the Dao can well be seen! Inscribed by Qianzi on the twenty-fifth day of the last month of winter in the jiyou year of the Xining reign [early 1070].