Monday, July 30, 2018

See the Light


The sage says that fire is bright.
Is that not so?
But it is not the equal of the Sun.
He says the Sun’s rays
Are resplendent in the heavens
But are not equal to
The Dharma of the Lord Buddha.
The fire blazes with all its might
But at the end of its time it is gone,
Used up, extinguished.
The Sun is brilliant,
Magnificent, it is true
But, when it sets, it is dimmed.
You can not see its light.
Lok tha bhloen bhli
Maen bit moh ri
Bum smoe suriya
Lok tha sury saen
Bhli caen veha
Moh bum smoe na
Brah dharm brah buddh
Bhloen bhli as citt
As kal hoey pat
Ralay ralat
Brah sury bhli loen
Thkom thkoen prakat
Ap astangat
Bum yal rasmi
Stanzas 9 & 10 of Chbab Kun Cau (Codes of Conduct: Children

and Grandchildren)

Composed in Pad Kakagati (Crow’s Gait Metre) 17th Century or earlier
Transliteration by Judith M. Jacob

Saturday, July 28, 2018

Have Some Humility

The immature rice stalk stands erect, while the mature stalk, heavy  
with grains, bends over.
Khmer Proverb



Monday, July 23, 2018

Keep Smiling

I saw it, your smile as beautiful as the day;
And the hour of the smile is the hour of love.
Ancient and Modern Poems (1826) by Alfred de Vigny

Sunday, July 22, 2018

Teav is Homesick

Just then the group of elderly court ladies
Came together cordially and sincerely,
And pleaded with her immediately to change
All her old clothes for new.
Refusing to do as they said, she wept constantly
In the bedroom, refraining from food.
The elderly ladies asked what was the matter.
She said she was sad without her mother.
Teav-Ek (1950) by Nou Kan

Friday, July 20, 2018

Be the Perfect Lady


Don’t curse. Lovely girls do not have foul mouths.

My Grandmother
Cambodia 1904?-May 1975

Tuesday, July 17, 2018

A Better Literature

If the letters disappear, the nation dies; if the letters are brilliance,
the nation is excellence.

Khmer Proverb


Monday, July 16, 2018

Wednesday, July 11, 2018

Change Is A Constant

Just like the sun that never stays in the east, power, reputation and wealth come and go.
Khmer Proverb