Oracle Vol I

The lamp of Verity no longer fades,

The world is from now like stagnant waters.

Seeing the course of events veers,

I remember the Shang dynasty.

A recall of Zhou King stirs up my enmity,

His passion for Daji betrays his father.

I have said things from near to further.

To ensure that you know who I am.

My good word, remember by heart,

And spend day and night praying.

Don’t crave the precarious ranking,

Or you’ll find no way out thereof!

Don’t practice like an adrift boat,

Like river banks that break or fill at times.

As the scheme is deep, so too is its woe,

The schemer will face the horrid savage.

Tigers, leopards, elephants, are on a rampage,

Giant snakes, centipedes, are in droves.

One should take care once they know,

What use is it to quarrel or to argue!

After this come many strange issues,

Tax exaction is a distressing disaster.

The people are now as if they had no fathers,

Pitiably they have been taught by no one.

They need the Bright King to be born,

His sadness glooms at the porch of Buddha.

He empathizes with the world in areas,

As the cruel hardly stand by the holy spirits.

If they are drowned in fame and profits,

On encounter, they’ll incur a long depression,

If you keep reciting sutras with devotion.

It is the jewels in store for your future.

Gold or brass has not yet been ensured,

Yet, the latter world will revere the good devout.

In prayer, you should be wholesome at heart,

You must fully grasp the self-cultivating path.

What a pity for those who crave extravaganza,

As if the blind traveled through the night.

I love the world as if I more than provide,

But they keep vying with hating each other.

When they become sick and turn to Buddha,

Despite their loud prayers, no Buddha could help.

The laypeople make gossips,

Whatever they said, I will tighten our lips.

They think that gives them a glory,

Instead of practicing, they rival with Crazy.

I feel unsettled once I’ve spoken out,

Now is the exhorting boat ride I talk about.

I happily work non stop day and night,

I work really hard despite rain or sunshine.

When I attend the Cloud Dragon Assembly,

Folks shall realize who this Crazy is.

Receding the boat, I scull with a fastened paddle,

It goes upstream and reaches an isle.

From afar, I don’t know what the village is,

In fact, it is Long Khanh where few practice.

Master and Disciples pretend to be blind,

We go singing and begging for dimes.

Once seeing us, they flock over,

In half a day though, I earned no piaster.

I chuckle for the lay world at times,

I cross the river after staying overnight.

At dawn, no sooner has the market been busy,

Than do I sell drugs and sing actuality.

I wait till they have gathered in droves,

Then I make a Predestiny singing show.

At this point, the folks are unimpressed,

Sadly for them, I leave them on express.

Once far away from Hong Ngu,

Crazy travel straight to the Tan Thanh town.

At this place, I show off how to talk about,

Well-versed in the philosophy of Confucius.

Several people gather and argue with Us,

Scolding how such old ferryman knew things.

Their manners only left me with empathizing,

I have not bothered, but give them a vision.

Relaxed, I stepped back onboard,

Entering the Ca Cai rivulet, I move outward.

Looking back, I watch bluish-white clouds,

Crazy exert effort to row for a slack hour.

In distance, I see a hazy mist,

The Tan An village lives on cereal mix.

On this market, I have feigned a fish seller,

Not before too long, buyers flock together.

As soon as people have finished haggling,

Crazy happily try to make the right weighing.

Some do not agree to have a scale balance,

Yet they tip it several times without askance.

How laughable are these men and women!

Then I lecture them at great lengths.

The old man burns the midnight oil,

Will not stop till they recoil.

No sooner have they heard it than they forget it,

Rowing the boat back, I feel dispirited.

At once I feign a person with disability,

Down the Xang canal, We are a little merry.

A man who lives in a humble thatched cottage,

Yet knows morals, invites Leprose to his place.

After a while debating current and old affairs,

Leprose embarked for Chau Doc straight.