Wonhyo (617 – 686 CE) was a highly influential writer and thinker in the Korean Buddhist tradition. He was famous for singing and dancing in the streets, activity that Buddhist practice frowns on, but this was intended as a way of teaching, for Wonhyo strove to transcend the distinction between secular and sacred. The following are brief excerpts from a poem written to urge people to devote themselves to spiritual practice.

At death, when the four elements of the body scatter,
You cannot preserve the body and remain in it any longer.
Today, evening has already arrived;
Tomorrow morning will soon be here.
So, practice now before it is too late. 

Worldly pleasures are unsatisfactory;
Why do you greedily cling to them?
Enduring joy can be won through a single effort in patience;
Why won’t you practice?

                *  *  *

The hours pass,
And too soon a day and night are over.
The days pass,
And soon it’s the last day of the month.
The months pass,
And suddenly another new year has come.
The years pass,
And in the blinking of an eye,
We find ourselves at death’s door.

                *  *  *

For many lifetimes, you have failed to practice,
Passing your days and nights in vain.
Having lived many lifetimes in vain,
Will you again fail to practice during this lifetime?

This body will inevitably come to an end;
Who knows what body you will have next time?

Isn’t this an urgent matter?
Isn’t this an urgent matter?

Translation Won-myong Sunim and Mark Mueller