poems. Yet, he does not mince words, but tells us precisely where to find the path to Heaven. Red Pine poem 117: I deplore this vulgar place where demons dwell with worthies. They say they're the same, but is the Tao impartial? A fox might ape a lion's mien and claim the disguise is real, but once ore enters the furnace, we soon see if it's gold or base. Red Pine poem 246: I recently hiked to a temple in the clouds and met some Taoist priests. Their star caps and moon caps askew they explained they lived in the wild. I asked them the art of transcendence; they said it was beyond compare, and called it the peerless power. The elixir meanwhile was the secret of the gods and that they were waiting for a crane at death, or some said they'd ride off on a fish. Afterwards I thought this through and concluded they were all fools. Look at an arrow shot into the sky- how quickly it falls back to earth. Even if they could become immortals, they would be like cemetery ghosts. Meanwhile the moon of our mind shines bright. How can phenomena compare? As for the key to immortality, within ourselves is the chief of spirits. Don't follow Lords of the Yellow Turban persisting in idiocy, holding onto doubts. The following poem is attributed to Hanshan's friend, Shide. The higher the trail the steeper it grows Ten thousand tiers of dangerous cliffs The stone bridge is slippery with green moss Cloud after cloud keeps flying by Waterfalls hang like ribbons of silk The moon shines down on a bright pool I climb the highest peak once more To wait where the lone crane flies Red Pine's poem 307: Whoever has Cold Mountain's poems is better off than those with sutras. Write them up on your screen and read them from time to time. Legacy The poetry from Cold Mountain has influenced the poets of many generations and cultures. He is especially loved by the Japanese, who know him as Kanzan. Hanshan was a sympathetic and important figure for Beat Generation writers Gary Snyder and Jack Kerouac. In the introduction to his translation which appeared in the Evergreen Review, Snyder wrote of Hanshan, "He and his sidekick Shih-te (Jittoku in Japanese) became great favorites with Zen painters of later days — the scroll, the broom, the