We came
empty-handed—
what can we
take with us
when we die?
Money,
status,
fame,
and all the rest—
we leave it all
behind!
We came
empty-handed,
but to go
empty-handed too—
that won’t do!
When we came,
we came
without knowing
we were coming;
when I go,
shouldn’t I go
knowing
who I am,
and knowing
that I am going?
What good is it
to own 
what we cannot take with us,
no matter how much
we own!
Better to own
what we can
take with us!
Since it is clear
that we clearly came
in a dream,
surely when we go,
we too will go
in a dream!
They say
life is nothing more
than a fleeting dream—
now I see
they were talking
about me!
What a sorry sight
 I am—
a fool
who does not even know
who he is,
yet loses his temper
when someone
calls him
a fool!
If I do not know,
I should know
that I do not know,
but by pretending
again and again
that I know when I do not,
what a liar
I have become!!

Calling this body
 “me,”
calling this mind
 “me”—
crazy talk!
Dream talk!
Enough now—
wake up!
Shake!
If that
does not work,
pinch!
If that still
does not work,
smack!
Slap
right across
the face!
If still
lying there limp,
shout,
“Fire!
 Fire!”
If still
not awake,
then
the house
might just go up
in flames!
Live or die—
who cares?!
Go on, then—
tell me:
how does hair grow
on the teeth
of a wooden plank?
Hey?!