흐르는 존재

The Flowing Essence

무(無)에서 생겨나 퍼져있던 존재가,

우연히 태어난 이 몸에,

흘러들어왔습니다.

그것이 바로 나이지요.

몸이 어릴 때는 내가, 몸인 줄만 알았고,

자라면서 생각이, 나인 줄만 알았는데,

나는 강처럼 굽이치고 구름처럼 떠다니며

모든 안과 바깥을 넘나듭니다.

피아노와 잉크병, 찻잔과 제비꽃,

부엉이와 열린 새장에, 나는

안개처럼 스며들어있지만,

얇은 안개막에도 내가 흠뻑 젖어있습니다.

죽고 부서지고 안개가 걷히더라도

나는 사라지지 않지만,

내가 거둬진 내 몸은

찻잔이나 잉크병과 무엇이 다를까요?

---

From the void, existence that once spread out,

Happened to flow into this body born by chance,

That is precisely who I am.

When I was young, I believed I was the body,

And as I grew, I thought thought was me,

But I am like a river that twists and clouds that drift,

Navigating through all that is within and beyond.

In the piano and ink bottle, the teacup and violet,

The owl and the open cage, I am,

Like a mist that seeps through,

Even in the delicate veil of mist, I am drenched.

Even if death, decay, or the mist lifts,

I will not disappear,

But what is the difference between

My discarded body and a teacup or ink bottle?