Meaning in the poem: "how can this be done?"

[Ali Hsn]

Dear teachers, readers,...

What's the meaning of "how can this be done?" and "A heart that is distant creates its own solitude" in the following poem please?

I built my cottage among the habitations of men,
And yet there is no clamor of carriages and horses.
You ask: "Sir, how can this be done?"
"A heart that is distant creates its own solitude."
I pluck chrysanthemums under the eastern hedge,
Then gaze afar towards the southern hills.
... (Part of a Chinese poem by Tao YuanMing, translated into English by Tony Barnstone and Chou Ping)

Thanks in advance!
Ali

 

[emsr2d2]

As far as I can work out, it means "I built my house in a place where lots of people already live but surprisingly there isn't a great load of noise made by people and carriages. Someone asks me how that's possible and I say that it's because my heart is a long way away (presumably somewhere quiet) and as a result I have been able to create a feeling of solitude and quiet even though I live somewhere noisy".