Although this verse is not as courageous as Yue Fei's "Crimson River," it's not too bad. The first line says: Ice in the sky, snow on the ground. It describes how we worked hard amidst the cold--we were in an icebox. Although Gold Mountain Monastery is not a world-renowned place, people in the United States know that it is an icebox. In the icebox, there's ice in the sky and snow on the ground. The ice represents that  it's cold--very, very cold. At Gold Mountain Monastery, the building is cold and so are the people. Everyone who comes here says, "The people at Gold Mountain Monastery are very cold to people; they are not warm at all." So people who come here are all disappointed. "Ah! Those people are really frigid, not friendly at all." All the bugs in Gold Mountain Monastery die in the cold. The "ice" means it's icy cold, and "snow" means everything is frozen like ice and snow. "Ice in the sky and snow on the ground." This is pretty easy to understand, right?

     Numberless tiny bugs die in the cold. It's not known how many of these bugs there are. These tiny bugs are just our false thoughts and the germs in our bodies. Every person's body has bacteria and germs. Due to the presence of these organisms, our bodies want to consume vitamins, such as A, B, C, D, B12, and vitamins 100 or 1000. "Die in the cold" means freeze to death. Since the people here don't take vitamins and yet still apply effort in such cold, these tiny organisms freeze to death. This kind of skill can eradicate all sorts of germs and infectious diseases. Not only does it cure skin diseases, it also freezes and kills the germs that transmit infectious diseases. Therefore, it says "Numberless tiny bugs die in the cold."

     However, these creatures are skilled at hiding. They become stiff in the winter, as if they were frozen to death, but they aren't really dead. The freeze temporarily causes them to become stiff and hard, but when the warm summer weather arrives, they come back to life. So it says: or sleep in hibernation. They hide away and go into hibernation, but when spring arrives they come back to life! Buddhism advocates not killing, so we should try to avoid killing even germs. Thus, "Numberless tiny creatures die in the cold or sleep in hibernation." They go into hibernation, and during that time they sleep. What does that symbolize? Their sleep symbolizes that when we are sitting in stillness and reciting the Six-Syllable Great Bright Mantra, we seem to enter samadhi and yet not enter samadhi. We seem to be reciting the Great Bright Mantra, but at the same time we seem to be in samadhi--that's what is meant by "sleep in hibernation." During our "hibernation" we should cultivate our thought. Therefore the next verse says: In the midst of stillness you should contemplate. The mind is cold and calm, free of the seven emotions and six desires. Why is it free of them? Because it's so cold! There is no energy for emotions and desires. Some creatures are frantically reciting, "It's so cold! It's so cold! It's so cold!" These creatures are freezing so badly that they go into hibernation. In the midst of stillness you should contemplate: when the mind has calmed down, contemplate what this state is like. This refers to cultivators who enter a state of stillness and contemplate how the myriad things are all speaking the Dharma.

     And within movement you should investigate. This refers to when you are moving about. Sometimes you sit and recite, and sometimes you walk and recite--never allowing the sound of the recitation to break off. In movement, contemplate the principles of the Buddha-dharma. To contemplate means to investigate, to look into the meditation topic. Even when you are moving, your mind should be clear and lucid, not muddled; whether sleeping or awake, you should not be confused. You should always be properly mindful; bring forth proper mindfulness and apply effort. Thus, you should investigate in movement.

     At that time, what happens? Some demonic states may appear. What kind of demonic states? Dragons spar and tigers wrestle in continual playful sport. The dragons are riding the clouds and driving the fog while the tigers are diving into caves and leaping over boulders. They are frolicking and having fun. When these states appear, they dazzle your eyes. You see the dragons sparring and chase after that state: "I'm going to get on that dragon!" Then you enter a demonic state and become possessed by a demon. When you see tigers wrestling, you are scared out of your wits. As soon as you let fear take hold, you also become vulnerable to demons. These are states that manifest in stillness. They are not worth mentioning. Just like the Fifty Skandha-demon States described in the Shurangama Sutra, these are illusory transformations, unreal states. So what should you do? You should "see as if not seeing, hear as if not hearing."

     Ghosts cry and spirits wail, their illusory transformations strange. At this time, you may hear ghosts howling, or perhaps you hear spirits wail. These illusory transformations are strange, and they are numerous beyond the description of words and perception of the mind. These are also illusory and false states. The ghosts are crying, "Oh! I am innocent! Someone did me in-- please save me quickly! Recite more Sutras for me and rescue me. Have mercy on me! I won't lose my temper anymore. I didn't understand before..." Spirits are also wailing, "Don't pay attention to him. His karmic obstacles are heavy. You cannot possibly help him." See how they argue among themselves? You cannot tell who is telling the truth and who is lying, so you get confused. "What should I do?" you wonder, and you start having false thoughts because you have been influenced by these states. Then the demons take possession of you, and when that