Showing posts with label Tao. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tao. Show all posts

7/13/2010

QUOTE : facing blank paper

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


Facing blank paper
is an artist's terror.



When an artist creates, he or she is like a shaman. Inspiration comes as a gift. Those who follow Tao are the same. Their awareness is not something they have cleverly formulated, nor is it something that they possess.
Tao comes to them like a gift.
That is why the arts and Tao are so closely allied.
The act of receiving and expressing is the same.

Just as an artist dreads not being able to make art, so too does one who follows Tao dread not feeling Tao.

There are many times when we are called upon to be creative; an athlete on the field, a lecturer before an audience, a musician on stage, a cook at the stove, a parent with a child. How do we keep the channel open? Some people try by maintaining tidy and regular lives, others by being constantly active. We are all different, and there is no right or wrong. The only thing that counts is feeling Tao in your own life and maintaining that feeling as much of the time as possible. If you find those special things that are latent in you and learn to express them, then you will know Tao.

365 Tao Daily Meditations
Deng Ming-Dao (author)
ISBN 0-06-250223-9


source : duckdaotsu.blogspot.com


.................................................................................



haiku is like a gift -
the act of receiving and expressing
is the same





haiku and ants



Can you find the five ants ?


. . . three ants are here

. . . two ants are here


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


. MORE
My Quotes with Haiku
 


. . . Read my Haiku Archives 2010

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

2/18/2010

WKD - Laozi and the Tao

[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO  TOP . ]
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: 

Laozi, Lao-tzu, Rooshi, Roshi【老子】
( pinyin: Lǎozi; Wade–Giles: Lao Tzu; also romanized as Lao Tse, Lao Tu, Lao-Tsu, Laotze, Laosi, Laocius,
and other variations; fl. 6th century BCE) was a philosopher of ancient China, best known as the author of the Tao Te Ching (often simply referred to as Laozi).His association with the Tào Té Chīng has led him to be traditionally considered the founder of philosophical Taoism (pronounced as "Daoism"). He is also revered as a deity in most religious forms of Taoist philosophy, which often refers to Laozi as Taishang Laojun, or "One of the Three Pure Ones".

Laozi is an honorific title. Lao (老) means "venerable" or "old", such as modern Mandarin laoshi (老师), "teacher". Zi (子),



According to Chinese traditions, Laozi lived in the 6th century BCE. Some historians contend that he actually lived in the 5th–4th century BCE, concurrent with the Hundred Schools of Thought and Warring States Period, while some others argue that Laozi is a synthesis of multiple historical figures or that he is a mythical figure.

A central figure in Chinese culture, both nobility and common people claim Laozi in their lineage. He was honored as an ancestor of the Tang imperial family, and was granted the title Táishāng xuānyuán huángdì, meaning "Supreme Mysterious and Primordial Emperor". Throughout history, Laozi's work has been embraced by various anti-authoritarian movements.

© More in the WIKIPEDIA !


.............................................................................


There is a discussion at Haiku Foundation

- Beauty in Haiku -

Haiku need not dwell entirely on the dark or seemly, but just as too much salt spoils a meal, so does too much sugar.
As James W. Hackett has said in his guidelines for writing haiku,

“Lifefulness, not beauty,
is the real quality of haiku.”


.................................................................................


the haiku under discussion has been this one


鮟鱇の骨まで凍ててぶちきらる
ankoo no hone made itete buchi-kiraru

this angler fish
feeing chilled to the bone
is (finally) cut to pieces


Kato Shuson 加藤楸邨 Katoo Shuuson
(Tr. Gabi Greve)


The reasoning for my translation is HERE

. WASHOKU
Anglerfish, angler fish (ankoo)
 


.................................................................................


TAO




Hua Hu Ching : Verse Forty-One


Good and bad, self and others,
life and death:
Why affirm these concepts?
Why deny them?

To do either is to exercise the mind,
and the integral being knows that
the manipulations of the mind are dreams,
delusions, and shadows.

Hold one idea, and another competes with it.
Soon the two will be in conflict with a third,
and in time your life is
all chatter and contradiction.

Seek instead to keep your mind undivided.
Dissolve all ideas into the Tao.


Translated by Brian Walker
http://www.cheraglibrary.org/taoist/hua-hu-ching.htm


Hua Hu Ching
The Unknown Teachings of Lao Tzu
ISBN 9780060692452


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::






Give me wise men's words
And the Goddess of Mercy
What more could I need


Pulled by Kuan Yin's gentle hand
The voice of Lao Tzu calling


- Shared by Res John Burman -
Joys of Japan, 2012




source : Tao and Zen, facebook


::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: 


白梅や老子無心の旅に住む
shira ume ya Rooshi mushin no tabi ni sumu

white plum blossoms —
Lao-Tzu dwells in a journey
of no-mind


. Kaneko Tohta 金子兜太 .

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::




. Tao, Dao and Haiku .
Chinese origin of Japanese kigo


[ . BACK to DARUMA MUSEUM TOP . ]
[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: 

12/16/2009

intellect and contemplation

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
quote



Ocean inside a skull-cup,
Seeking the universal code in letters.
The mind is like a flower on icy water:
An eye within the petals.





The intellect is one of the thorniest problems for a spiritual aspirant. One cannot do without it—indeed, it is essential—and yet one cannot allow it to remain totally dominant. The intellect must be fully developed before it is brought to a point of neutrality. Unless this is done, it will act as a block, and there will not be any ultimate spiritual success.

Scholarship is thus an important first step. Education is a means of gaining access to the conventional world, of satisfying our curiosity, and of avoiding superstitious tendencies. There can be no talk of delving into philosophical mysteries if one has not even satisfied one’s curiosity about nature, civilization, mathematics, and language. But once mental cultivation is achieved, one must focus increasingly on a part of the mind that is far beyond the scholarly.

The intellect uses discrimination, categorization, and dualistic distinctions in highly sophisticated ways. By contrast, spiritual contemplation involves no discrimination, no categorization, and no dualism, so it has very little need for scholasticism.

It is pure action that requires the totality of our inner beings.
It needs pure involvement, not mere study.
The proper use of the intellect is to give it free play, develop it to an extraordinary degree, and yet to leave it behind when spiritual action is required.

A sage knows how to balance and combine both.

Daily Meditations
Deng Ming-Dao
source : www.duckdaotsu.org




This reminds me a bit of how to write haiku.
There is an intellectual act involved, but also a spiritual "let go" without discrimination.


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

. . . more of my quotes with TAO



. . . Read my Haiku Archives 2009


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

11/20/2009

QUOTE : true richness

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


Knowing others is intelligence;
knowing yourself is true wisdom.
Mastering others is strength;
mastering yourself is true power.

If you realize that you have enough,
you are truly rich.


Tao Te Ching


Tao and Haiku



truely rich -
I write a haiku
every day




:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


My quotes with HAIKU


. . . Read my Haiku Archives 2009


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

11/14/2009

Tao Te Ching 45

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


Snail, tiny spiral in calcified membrane;
Inchworm, a hairpin dragon;
Bumblebee, blob of velvet black and yellow,
White butterfly, syncopated burst of gladness;
Naked bulbs, white pubic tentacles in crumbling soil;
Pears, children of earth and sun.


365 Tao
daily meditations
Deng Ming-Dao (author)



Tao Te Ching Verse 45
http://www.facebook.com/note.php?¬e_id=196776481638


...............................................


small things
the dao in
daily haiku



:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


Tao and my haiku

quotes and my haiku




. . . Read my Haiku Archives 2009


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

5/28/2009

flowers of life

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::



44 peony with red stripes



the zen of living
is the zen of each moment -
taste the flowers of life




50 white and green mandala




 . for Harvey So Daiho Hilbert



:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


. . . Read my Haiku Archives 2009


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

1/15/2009

walking

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


I pray
with my whole body -
walking in the cold





Minus Four Centigrade




:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


. . . Read my Haiku Archives 2009


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

12/22/2008

if you meet the Buddha

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


If you meet the Buddha
on the path to enlightenment,
kill him.




If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him!


When I once (more than 30 years ago) tried to outsmart my Japanese Archery (Kyudo) teacher with Western Wit and this saying, he gave me the "Asiatic smile" and replied:

Be careful with Asian wisdom.
The first Buddha you are going to meet on the WAY
is yourself.
Are you ready to kill ?




If you meet the Buddha ... and DARUMA !  


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


. . . Read my Haiku Archives 2008


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

2/25/2008

Dragon King Sutra

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


spring surprize -
the Dragon King shows me

his secrets







:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


Dragon King Mantra

. Ocean Dragon King Sutra



. . . Read my Haiku Archives 2008


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

12/27/2007

roses and clouds

  
  




03 roses in foreground



sea of clouds -
my roses breathe
so carefully



CLICK for enlartement !





06 roses and clouds







frost melting
on my roses -
the beauty of NOW




07 frost melting






winter roses -
each petal has
its own spark



09 just one rose







:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::



The Art of Meditation in Taoism

Contemplative Taoists will be happily to sit with yogis and Zennists for as long as is reasonable and comfortable, but when nature tells us that we are 'pushing the river' we will get up and do something else, or even go to sleep...

... or even write a haiku ...

Basically, Taoist meditation is more like a sort of wisdom achieved by close observation of the things and phenomena in the world surrounding us. Such wisdom should help us go alongside with things and not against them, and is surely related to the wu-wei (nondoing) concept.
 © www.taopage.org


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::



Read my Haiku Archives 2007

rose roses rose
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

11/29/2007

suspended leaf

  
  


like this leaf
suspended in mid-air -
namu amida butsu









一枚の落ち葉のごとし南無阿弥陀




南無阿弥陀仏





:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::



南無阿弥陀仏
Namu Amida Butsu, the Amida Prayer



Click on the leaf !

It must have been caught in some spiders net, but as you can see, it is clearly FREE !


Read my Haiku Archives 2007


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

11/03/2007

chrysanthemum dew

  
  


07 dew on petals



chrysanthemum dew -
I sip a bit of
long life






:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::



. . . Chrysanthemum Dew and Longevity




Read my Haiku Archives 2007


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

6/22/2007

Walking my path

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


trekking season -
so many stones
on my path

 


please add your life walk haiku !



:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::



Read my Haiku Archives 2007


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

5/13/2007

Confucius

  
  






Confucius -
another long path
to the old pond






:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::



Confucius, a Chinese Scholar : Kooshi, Koshi, Koushi, Kōshi 孔子
孔夫子, Kung Tzu, Kung Fu Tzu, Kung Fu Zi, Kǒng fū zǐ





Read my Haiku Archives 2007


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

3/12/2007

right or left

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::



  
  



summer sunshine -
does the snail turn right now
or left ?








:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::



classical Japanese haiku and
modern American haiku poetry ...

worlds of differences



Read my Haiku Archives from March 2007


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

3/08/2007

Haiku Riddles and Ego

[ . BACK to ARCHIVES TOP . ]
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

About EGO and HAIKU, see below.

... ... ...

"I personally have a problem with haiku-riddles.
And I want my haiku to be understood - otherwise,
why to write, to please yourself only?"

a haiku friend asked.

.............................................


Ambiguity and yugen (depth and mystery) are wonderful tools.
Most good haiku have more than one level of meaning.

Take for example, this haiku by Basho:

an octopus pot ---
inside, a short-lived dream
under the summer moon



What one person perceives as clear may not be clear to another with a different cultural memory and social context.

a haiku friend answered.

.............................................

These octopus pots are quite common for fishing in our area in the Seto Inland sea. In some parts, the coast is littered, so to speak, with the bones and souls of warriours from the Genpei war and others.

This haiku by Basho is rather clear. It is not a riddle to me, but full of cultural allusions and information.
It also reminds of the haiku about the dreams of ancient warriors in the summer grass of Hiraizumi.

Maybe our problem with the haiku riddles result from our different cultures where we originate?

Yugen (yuugen 幽玄) is part of many arts of Japan, not only haiku. It is part of the aesthetic aspect of many things here. Especially in the Noh Theater, we see a lot of yugen but that is not identical with riddle, it is much more subtle than that and involves a lot of the common cultural understanding of a man of letters (bunjin 文人), reaching back to ancient China and its early influence on Japan.

Maybe more later.... now is time for

drinking hot sake
from the old teacup -
memories and dreams

Gabi


Read the details about
the octopus pots, takotsubo 蛸壺!




. Basho and the Old Pond .
Three choices !


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Compiled by Larry Bole:


From Jane Reichhold's essay "Haiku Techniques:"

The Technique of the Riddle - this is probably one of the very oldest poetical techniques. It has been guessed that early spiritual knowledge was secretly preserved and passed along through riddles. Because poetry, as it is today, is the commercialization of religious prayers, incantations, and knowledge, it is no surprise that riddles still form a serious part of poetry's transmission of ideas.

One can ask: "what is still to be seen"

on all four sides
of the long gone shack

The answer is:
calla lilies

Or another one would be:

spirit bodies
waving from cacti
plastic bags


The 'trick' is to state the riddle in as puzzling terms as possible. What can one say that the reader cannot figure out the answer? The more intriguing the 'set-up' and the bigger surprise the answer is, the better the haiku seems to work. As in anything, you can overextend the joke and lose the reader completely.
The answer has to make sense to work and it should be realistic.

Here is a case against desk haiku. If one has seen plastic bags caught on cacti, it is simple and safe to come to the conclusion I did. If I had never seen such an incident, it could be it only happened in my imagination and in that scary territory one can lose a reader. So keep it true, keep it simple and keep it accurate and make it weird.

Oh, the old masters favorite trick with riddles was the one of: is that a flower falling or is it a butterfly? or is that snow on the plum or blossoms and the all-time favorite "am I a butterfly dreaming I am a man or a man dreaming I am a butterfly."
Again, if you wish to experiment (the ku may or may not be a keeper) you can ask yourself the question: if I saw snow on a branch, what else could it be? Or seeing a butterfly going by you ask yourself what else besides a butterfly could that be?
http://www.ahapoetry.com/haiartjr.htm


From an essay by Jaroslaw Kapuscinski,
"The Future of Music:"


I will read to you a haiku by my favorite master, a contemporary of J. S. Bach, Matsuo Basho (1644-1694) (the example below was translated by Lucien Stryk in a Penguin collection of Basho's haiku called "On Love and Barley").

"In my new robe
This morning
Someone else"


Let me read it once again but with the lines backwards:

"Someone else
This morning
In my new robe"

There are only three lines, but what richness of meaning. To achieve it Basho uses a well-known haiku convention that is most important to us here. Not all haiku use this principle but most do. It is called the principle of internal comparison.

You compare the meanings of the three lines and consider that they all refer to the same thing, in our terms that they are all "sides" of one hand. This technique gives haiku a unique quality of growth -- an ability to convey so much more emotion than is expected at a first reading.

You generate a whole space of meaning or experience in a dimension that is well beyond that of the three images defined in the three lines individually. Haiku may seem small, but in their case it is certain that size does not matter.

This haiku does not only grow, but actually reverses its meaning back and forth as you keep rereading it.

"In my new robe"
(We think of a new look, something you have not worn before, external appearance, surface...)

"This morning"
(A new day, a beginning...)

"Someone else"
(Me or not me or just a new me...)

But a morning is only one of many mornings; it is the morning after a day and before another. The whole concept of the new, fresh, or of a beginning, is suddenly put in doubt and reversed. "Someone else" seems to sound like an irony for a moment. But if you insist on the "not me" interpretation of "someone else" then you realize that there is never a morning or a day that is a copy of another, and the newness resurfaces again. And so it continues...

The triangle of images seem to be representing aspects of the same experience but they pull us into a paradox, they present a contradiction that cannot be reconciled. Like a koan, this haiku is a riddle that has no static answer. You can only understand it in a dynamic, constantly changing way.
http://www.rogerreynolds.com/jarek/jarek.html


Now granted, this last example may be stretching the meaning of riddle, but riddles don't necessarily have to have answers in order to be riddles.

Definition (2) from Webster's New World Dictionary, College Edition, 1962:
"any puzzling, perplexing, or apparently inexplicable person or thing, as a difficult problem or enigmatic saying; enigma."

And from "The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics," 1974 edition:
"RIDDLE. Essentially a metaphor which draws attention to likenesses between unrelated objects..."


However, in an essay by William J. Higginson, "Haiku Clinic #2" from "Simply Haiku," he warns against using the riddle technique "when a first or last line seems to answer a riddle posed by the rest of the poem."

In "Haiku Clinic #1" (ibid.) Higginson writes, "...the setup and delivery mode, or riddle and solution, a kind of logic, still doesn't work very well in haiku."

I would tend to agree with the last statement. However, I propose that the technique is viable, as Reichhold suggests, if instead of answering the posed riddle explicitly, the haiku leaves the answer up to the reader.

Although I'm sure there will be disagreement, I see the following by Basho as a type of "riddle" haiku:

'Greeting the New Year near the capital'

the man wearing
a straw mat, who is he?
blossoms in spring

komo o kite tarebito imasu hana no haru
straw-mat acc. wearing what-person is blossom 's spring

tr. David Barnhill

Barnhill writes:

"In commenting on this hokku, Basho lamented that he lacked the ability to distinguish a mere beggar from a sage, who may live in poverty."

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


We must also distinguish between a riddle and
something plainly not understandable.
Sometimes it is only because of not enough cultural knowledge, sometimes something expressed in words toooo poetic to fit a classical Japanese haiku and reads like a mix of modern European haiku poetry.

Creating depth or confusion ? The haiku poet is always challenged to choose his words carefully!

Something beyond the concept of simple shasei, sketching from nature, turns the real into the irreal, something strongly filtered through the phantasy and psyche of the poet.
Maybe we could call it : surreal, as in a painting of Salvadore Dali. You can almost see the beard on the face of the smiling me/frog

an old pond . . .
the frog jumps
through me


... ... ...

a sound of water
from the old pond -
I am the frog


Gabi
SNAPSHOTS
about shasei, sketching from nature without phantasy or ego


In Zen, we train to loose the EGO, or rather, feel one with the ALL. In that sense, I am the FROG! I am the butterfly and the dandelion by the roadside. So there is no need to state that in every haiku.

My above poems are examples for a way I think
HAIKU should NOT BE written.

Short poems or verses like this, yes, but why name it haiku?

..............................................


For a number of years I have argued against the lack of punctuation in modern genre haiku. It allows for an ambiguity which is unnecessary and which contrasts with the subtle allusiveness of classical Japanese haiku.

Full discussion is here :
Hugh Bygott, August 2007


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Another example

four legs
in my kitchen -
spring morning


Well, I find this plain confusing. It could be so many things, from animals to furniture. I do not think this poem creates any depth by being so vague.

four small legs
in my kitchen -
spring morning


Any better?
Two little chicken? Or one kitten? The chair for our firstborn son? A tiny table for the grandchildren who are coming for Easter? A cockroach where the kids have torn out two legs and left the poor corpse on the table?
Still too much to think about and not much to enjoy easily as an image.

What inspired all this was a movie about a rural family with a very small pony as a family member.

having breakfast
with our new pony -
spring morning

Now things are clear, I feel. Now the reader can understand what I am showing and create his own story about the scene, dream his own dream about living with animals ...

CLICK for original link, ginliddy.com

This is an example of . AIMAI 曖昧 . , translated as
ambiguous, unclear or vague.


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Ambiguity in haiku is sometimes useful, but simple confusion is usually not and does not help to produce "depth", but leads the mind straight to its intellectual side, trying to figure out what is going on, who is doing what ... and so missing the initial situation, not being able to see the initial image clearly.

Gabi Greve


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


Now a bit more on

................................... Haiku and EGO

Quote from "Speculations of Robert Spiess"

608
A genuine haiku is the 'testament' of an aspect of the world process itself, apart from any intervention of human ego.

627
As human nature tends to be deflected from its original unity and simplicity by ego and its constrictive and seductive illusions, haiku are salutary in mitigating this tendency, and to bring our nature back to its original mode.

653
The haiku poet does not need ego in order to be self-aware.

717
Haiku poets should be aware of the tyranny of the ego, for it clings to its obsession with being special.

726
By forgetting one's ego, the haiku poet's true being is confirmed by all things.

867
In a haiku’s now-moment (whether immediate or from memory) the ego and the intellect are to be left behind.

871
In genuine haiku the heart annihilates the ego.

Speculations of Robert Spiess
long-time editor of Modern Haiku.


... ... ...

Bruce Ross identifies a "tendency in the fourth generation of American haiku writers of the late seventies, eighties and early nineties unfortunately to frequently offer catchy moments of sensibility that often rely on obvious metaphoric figures.

These American poets desire to create 'haiku moments'. But a subjective ego, call it sentiment or call it imagination, intrudes upon their perception of the object".

In Zen parlance there is no need to "put legs on the snake" - not even poetic metaphysical ones.

The insight of the haiku moment is fresh, new-minted perception, though it may be so ordinarily expressed as to risk failing the "So What?" test unless the reader's reception is similarly attuned.

Haiku offer a glancing opportunity, without the poetic prompting of another, to accept for ourselves how it is.

Blyth says:
"Where Basho is at his greatest is where he seems most insignificant, the neck of a firefly, hailstones in the sun, the chirp of an insect ... these are full of meaning, interest, value, that is, poetry, but not as symbols of the Infinite, not as types of Eternity, but in themselves. Their meaning is just as direct, as clear, as unmistakable, as complete and perfect, as devoid of reference to other things, as dipping the hand suddenly into boiling water."

Zen is commonplace: the ordinary is extraordinary when we are jolted out of our habitual selves; there is no need to hype it up.

Read this most interesting article HERE !
Zen and the Art of Haiku. Ken Jones

... ... ...

In Japanese haiku, the ego is to be not-present.
According to the masters of Japanese Poetry, good haiku may only be composed in a state of egolessness. The Poet and the subject of the poem must become one, in a state of thoughtless awareness (meditation).

The loss of ego-
The sea falls into the drop
So why speak of loss?


Graham Brown, Australia

... ... ...

The Healing Spirit of Haiku
by David Rosen

In particular they address the need to react to and relate with other human beings as well as nature. Rosen and Weishaus emphasize the interconnections of haiku with Zen Buddhism, Shintoism, and Taoism. This is not a book about the history of haiku or how to write them.

This is not a self-help book in the usual sense, but rather a non-self (beyond the ego) healing volume that ideally helps one to realize that we are alone only in the ways we choose to be. This book values haiku moments and creativity and underscores the philosophy: "Moments, moments, that is life."
Amazon. com



ego ZEN trick

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


“The tree manifests the bodily power of the wind;
The wave exhibits the spiritual nature of the moon.”

Zenrinkushu

Blyth tells us in response,
“If the tree were strong enough it would manifest nothing.
If the wave were rigid, the moon’s nature could not be expressed in it.”
snip
In other words, Blyth is saying that the writer of hokku must “empty himself” of the desire to “express himself,” to “become a poet,” to “make a name for himself,” and it is only because of that emptiness — like the emptiness of a mirror undimmed by dust — that the writer can truly experience and express the “things” that are the primary matter of hokku.

LISTENING TO R. H. BLYTH
source : David Coomler, Hokku


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

quote
Traces of Dreams - Haruo Shirane
Cultural Landscape
... Spring rain, for example, became associated with soft, dreamy thoughts; the wet season, particularly that of the Fifth Month, implied a sense of unending depression; and the intermittent showers of winter connoted impermanence and uncertainty.

These poetic topics and their associations are, in a fundamental sense, imaginary worlds, which join the poet and the reader, and represent a communal, shared imagination. In writing about the scattering of the cherry blossoms, the Japanese poet is not just writing about a specific, direct experience; he or she is writing a supplement to or a variation on a commonly shared body of poetic associations with respect to the seasons, nature, and famous places based on centuries of poetic practice.

Here, as in the allusive variation (honkadori),
originality or individuality is not the touchstone of literary genius, as it often is in the Western tradition.
Instead, high value is given to the ability to rework existing subject matter.

source : books.google.co.jp


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


Danjuro XII and the freedom in Kabuki acting

Freedom is fine; but I get the feeling that many modern-day Japanese have forgotten that freedom comes with responsibility. This concept is found in kabuki, so people who come to watch it will be exposed to the responsibility of freedom as well as freedom's limits.

Think of freedom as a dog that feels free to run around a fenced garden. It feels satisfied because it is not stuck in the house, even though it doesn't have the freedom to go outside the garden.
Freedom exists inside the garden as well as outside.
But there is a barrier.
Nowadays, there is no such barrier.
I think kabuki expresses the freedom that exists within a barrier.

DANJURO XII
Destined to act wild
... read the full interview!



This is almost the same as my haiku teacher told me when I asked her about expressing my individuality within the many guidelines of Japanese traditional haiku!
She also said

"Find your own voice within the limits!
Express yourself within the promises (yakusokugoto) of haiku!
And if you can not or do not want to do that,
write free poetry. "



Gabi Greve


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


Now, is this one surreal, irreal, methapyhsical, phantastic or
plain sketching from what is before my eyes?

getting older -
even the gods
need glasses

Jizo, a god wearing glasses






Here you can look at some of my
sleeping stones !

Gabi


Read my thoughts on
Yugen (yuugen 幽玄)



:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


the following is a qoute from
source : www.roadrunnerjournal.net :


SURREALISM & CONTEMPORARY HAIKU
~ OR ~
SURREAL HAIKU?

by Philip Rowland


Other examples of somewhat surrealistic, classic haiku include Bashō’s:

tsuki izuku kane wa shizumeru umi no soko

where is the moon?
the temple bell is sunk
at the bottom of the sea



Shuson’s commentary on this haiku underlines its highly subjective and imaginative (even “fanciful”) power: “In his mind Bashō saw the light of the full moon and heard the faint sound of the bell. Although there was no moon in actuality, its absence led him to fly on wings of fancy to a mysterious but concrete world in his imagination.”
Shuson’s comment is a useful reminder that the “mysteriousness”of a perception need not detract from its vividly “concrete” poetic rendering.

Philip Rowland


my comments are here:
. The mystery background story
of the war bell at the bottom of the sea




:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


. The Point of Ego and Individuality .



. . . . . BACK TO
My Haiku Theory Archives  



[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

1/11/2007

QUOTES

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


Here I collect some quotes,
to be enjoyed with haiku!




My QUOTES with HAIKU from 2008



:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::



Worrying is carrying tomorrow's load
with today's strength
--carrying two days at once.
It is moving into tomorrow ahead of time.
Worrying doesn't empty tomorrow of its sorrow,
it empties today of its strength.


Corrie Ten Boom


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


Every happening, great and small,
is a parable whereby God speaks to us,
and the art of life is to get the message.


Malcolm Muggeridge


One way to "get the message" is to write haiku !


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


I shall open my eyes and ears.
Once every day I shall simply
stare at a tree, a flower, a cloud, or a person.

I shall not then be concerned at all to ask
what they are
but simply be glad
that they are.

I shall joyfully allow them their
"divine, magical, and ecstatic" existence.


Clyde S. Kilby

..........................................................



simply see
simply be glad
simply write haiku





:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::




Spring passes and one remembers
one's innocence.
Summer passes and one remembers
one's exuberance.
Autumn passes and one remembers
one's reverence.
Winter passes and one remembers
one's perseverance.


Yoko Ono

....................................................


each season passes
and one remembers
one's haiku


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


Success or failure, the truth of a life really has little to do with its quality.
The quality of life is in proportion, always, to the capacity for delight.
The capacity for delight is the gift of paying attention.


Julia Cameron


....................................................


paying attention -
tha capacity for delight
the capacity for haiku



:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


Unless your heart, your soul,
and your whole being are behind every decision you make,
the words from your mouth will be empty,
and each action will be meaningless.

Truth and confidence are the roots of happiness.


Kathleen Pedersen


Truth and confidence are the roots of haiku !

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


Any fool can make a rule,
and any fool will mind it.


Henry David Thoreau


Aaa, but what about these haiku rules ? grin ...


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


Our dependency makes slaves out of us,
especially if this dependency is
a dependency of our self-esteem.


If you need encouragement, praise,
pats on the back from everybody,
then you make everybody your judge.


Fritz Perls


Who is the real judge of your haiku ?


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


The self is not something that one finds.
It is something that one creates.


-- Thomas Szasz (1920-)
American Psychiatrist

...........................


With haiku, it is often the other way round for me:


A haiku is not something that one creates.
It is something that one finds.




How about your haiku creation process ?


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::



Practice rather than preach.
Make of your life an affirmation,
defined by your ideals,
not the negation of others.

Dare to the level of your capability
then go beyond to a higher level.


Alexander Haig


and then, only then, write a haiku ...


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


Your thoughts should agree with your words,
and the words should agree with your actions.

In this world people think one thing,
say another thing,
and do something else.

This is horrible.
This is crookedness.


Sivananda
http://www.sivananda.org/



your thoughts should agree
with your words ...
YOUR HAIKU



:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


The world is blessed most by people who do things,
not by those who merely talk about them.


James Oliver


do it! write a haiku NOW !


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


to live like a beautiful summer blossom,
to die like a beautiful autumn moon


Rabindranath Tagore


to work like a beautiful haiku poet


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::



What can be added to the happiness of a man who is in health,
out of debt, and has a clear conscience?


Adam Smith (1723-1790)



you guess, a haiku !


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::



If we learn once again to listen to the gentle voice within,
we will hear it counseling us many times a day to simplify our lives.
When the voices of the world
propose the multiple complexities of modern living,
the gentle voices within will whisper:
Why complicate your life?


Matthew Kelly


less is more -
haiku is more
with less



:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


There are two things to aim at in life:
first, to get what you want;
and, after that, to enjoy it.
Only the wisest of humans achieve the second.


Logan Pearsall Smith

..... .....


Life should be enjoyable;
too often we think it's about achievement.
The truth is that making life enjoyable
is an achievement in itself.

unattributed


haiku is not about the achievement,
but about the joy of writing it !


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


Simply give others a bit of yourself;
a thoughtful act, a helpful idea,
a word of appreciation, a lift over a rough spot,
a sense of understanding, a timely suggestion.
You take something out of your mind,
garnished in kindness out of your heart,
and put it into the other person's mind and heart.


Charles H. Burr


give a haiku ...

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::



If we can recognize that change and uncertainty are basic principles,
we can greet the future
and the transformation we are undergoing with the understanding
that we do not know enough to be pessimistic.


Hazel Henderson

.....


I have become my own version of an optimist.
If I can't make it through one door,
I'll go through another door--
or I'll make a door.
Something terrific will come
no matter how dark the present.


Rabindranath Tagore


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


Learn to get in touch with silence within yourself
and know that everything in this life has purpose.
There are no mistakes, no coincidences,
all events are blessings given to use to learn from.


Elisabeth Kuebler-Ross


..........................


True silence really means going deep within yourself
to that place where nothing is happening,
where you transcend time and space.
You go into a brand new dimension of nothingness.

That's where all the power is.
That's your real home.
That's where you really belong,
in deep Silence where there is no good or bad,
no one trying to achieve anything.

Just being, pure being. . . .
Silence is the ultimate reality.


Robert Adams

...................................................


that place where nothing is happening
well
haiku is happening


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


To be ambitious for wealth,
and yet always expecting to be poor,
to be always doubting your ability to get what you long for,
is like trying to reach east by traveling west. . . .

No matter how hard you work for success,
if your thought is saturated with the fear of failure,
it will kill your efforts,
neutralize your endeavors,
and make success impossible.


Charles Baudouin

... ... ...

Consult not your fears but your hopes and dreams.
Think not about your frustrations,
but about your unfulfilled potential.

Concern yourself not with what you tried and failed in,
but with what is still possible for you to do.

Pope John XXIII


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::



Acceptance is observation of life
and suspension of judgment about
whether what is happening is
good or bad, right or wrong.


Ron Smotherman


Flow with whatever may happen and let your mind be free.
Stay centered by accepting whatever you are doing.


Chuang Tzu


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


People who soar are those who refuse to sit back,
sigh, and wish things would change.
They neither complain of their lot
nor passively dream of some distant ship coming in.

Rather, they visualize in their minds
that they are not quitters;
they will not allow life’s circumstances
to push them down and hold them under.


Charles Swindoll


..........................................


Time is a flowing river.
Happy those who allow themselves
to be carried, unresisting, with the current.
They float through easy days.
They live, unquestioning, in the moment.


Christopher Morley


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


An American tourist found himself in India on the day of the pilgrimage to the top of a sacred mountain.

Thousands of people would climb the steep path to the mountaintop. The tourist, who had been jogging and doing vigorous exercise and thought he was in good shape, decided to join in and share the experience.

After twenty minutes, he was out of breath and could hardly climb another step, while women carrying babies, and frail old men with canes, moved easily past him.

"I don't understand it," he said to an Indian companion. "How can these people do it when I can't?"

His friend answered, "It is because you have the typical American habit of seeing everything as a test. You see the mountain as your enemy and you set out to defeat it. So, naturally, the mountain fights back and it is stronger than you are.

We do not see the mountain as an enemy to be conquered. The purpose of our climb is to become one with the mountain and so it lifts us up and carries us along."


Harold Kushner in
When All You've Ever Wanted Isn't Enough


quoted from
 © www.spiritualityandpractice.com


......................................................................


haiku is an exercise to become one with the mountain too ...


. . . . . BACK TO
My Haiku Theory Archives  


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


Accepting things conditionally,
or rather unconditionally?



Acceptance is a letting-go process.
You let go of your wishes
and demands that life can be different.
It's a conscious choice.


Gary Emery


Of course there is no formula for success
except perhaps
an unconditional acceptance of life
and what it brings.


Artur Rubinstein


 
things are the way they are -
my haiku state things
the way they are



:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


Because one believes in oneself,
one doesn't try to convince others.
Because one is content with oneself,
one doesn't need others' approval.
Because one accepts oneself,
the whole world accepts him or her.


The Tao Te Ching

..........................................

because one writes haiku
for the joy of writing them
one doesn't need others' approval



:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


You can tell whether one is clever
by his or her answers.
You can tell whether one is wise
by his or her questions.

Naguib Mahfouz

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naguib_Mahfouz


.............................................


You can tell whether one is ? ? ?
by reading his or her haiku .


rainy season ...
shall I write a wet haiku
or a dry one ?


rainy season ...
shall I write a clever haiku
or a wise one ?



:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


Schon das kleinste Kunstwerk,
eine Bleistiftskizze von sechs Strichen
und ein Gedichtvers von vier Zeilen,
versucht frech und blind das Unmögliche,
geht aufs Ganze,
will das Chaos in die Nußschale schöpfen!



Hermann Hesse

.......................................................


haiku ...
trying to scoop chaos
into a nutshell



:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


Guard well your spare moments.
They are like uncut diamonds.
Discard them and their value will never be known.
Improve them and they will become
the brightest gems in a useful life.


Ralph Waldo Emerson

.........................................................

your spare moments
your treasure moments
your haiku moments



:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


Reduce the complexity of life
by eliminating the needless wants of life,
and the labors of life reduce themselves.


Edwin Way Teale

............................................

reduce the complexity of poetry
by eliminating the needles words of life ..
and the joys of live will double themselves

Haiku with less words ...


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


Remember not only to say the right thing
in the right place, but far more difficult still,

to leave unsaid the wrong thing
at the tempting moment.


Benjamin Franklin

...........................

to leave unwritten
this haiku at the wrong moment


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


You do not suffer because things are impermanent.
You suffer because things are impermanent
and you think they are permanent.


Thich Nhat Hanh


suffering and happiness,
they are both sides of the same coin ...

a simple haiku <>
how permanent
can it be ?

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


To live content with small means;
to seek elegance rather than luxury,
and refinement rather than fashion;

to be worthy, not respectable,
and wealthy, not rich;
to study hard, think quietly, talk gently, act frankly;

to listen to stars and birds,
to babes and sages, with open heart;

to bear all cheerfully, do all bravely,
await occasions, hurry never;

in a word to let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious,
grow up through the common--
this is to be my symphony.

William Henry Channing


.... to live with a haiku and a smile ...


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


You can clear the land, plow the field, spread the fertilizer, and plant the corn. But you cannot make it rain. You cannot prevent an early frost.
You cannot determine exactly what will happen in your life.
The rain may or may not fall, but one thing is certain:
you will get a harvest only if you planted something in the field.

It's important to do everything in our power to ensure our success,
but we also need to let the universe take its course.


Melody Beattie


You plant the haiku! Heaven spreads in it the world.


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

When you arise in the morning,
think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive -

to breathe,
to think,
to enjoy,
to love.

Marcus Aurelius Antoninus

.....

to write a haiku !


Japanese by Nakamura Sakuo :

目覚めごと 生きる尊さ 思いけり
mezame goto ikiru tootosa omoi keri

every wake up
precious life
thinking of



:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


To see a world in a grain of sand,
and heaven in a wildflower,
hold infinity in the palm of your hand
and eternity in an hour.


William Blake



:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

What is life?

It is the flash of a firefly in the night.
It is the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime.

It is the little shadow
which runs across the grass
and loses itself in the Sunset.



Crowfoot, a leader of the Blackfoot nation


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


One of Jesus' favorite visual aids is a child.
Every time the disciples get into head games,
he puts a child in front of them.


— Richard Rohr in Everything Belongs

To Practice This Thought:
Let the little ones be your teachers.

..............................................

for haiku too :
Let the little ones be your teachers.


ko ni aku to moosu hito ni wa hana mo nashi

blossoms are wasted
on anyone who's fed up
with children


Basho, trans. Robin D. Gill


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


Sabbaths 1999
by Wendell Berry

I dream of a quiet man
who explains nothing and defends
nothing, but only knows
where the rarest wildflowers
are blooming, and who goes,
and finds that he is smiling
not by his own will.



from Dancing with Joy: 99 Poems by Roger Housden

..............................................


a quiet man
writing his haiku
in silence



:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


Instead of condemning others,
strive to reach inner peace.

Keep silent, refrain from judgement.
This will raise you above the deadly arrows of slander, insult and outrage
and will shield your glowing hearts against all evil.


St. Seraphim of Sarov

St. Seraphim (born Prohor Moshnin) was born in 1759 to a merchant family in Kursk. At the age of 10, he became seriously ill. During the course of his illness, he saw the Mother of God in his sleep, who promised to heal him.

..............................................


Keep silent, refrain from judgement.
Write haiku, refrain from judgement.



:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


Your life is always working,
whether you know it or not.
Sometimes it works to bring you what you want,
and sometimes it works to keep you from what you think you want.

Neale Donald Walsch : Tomorrow's God

sometimes it brings you a haiku ...


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


I hope its true -
a good word melts
the cold of this March



Hold Your Tongue
A Practice for Winter Harmony



:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


Reverence the highest,
have patience with the lowest.

Are the stars too distant,
pick up the pebble that lies at thy feet,
and from it learn the all.


Margaret Fuller
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Fuller



pick up the haiku that lies at thy feet


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


true words aren't beautiful
beautiful words aren't true
the good aren't eloquent
the eloquent aren't good
the wise aren't learned
the learned aren't wise

the sage accumulates nothing
but the more he does for others
the greater his existence
the more he gives to others
the greater his abundance

the Way of Heaven
is to help without harming
the Way of the sage
is to act without struggling

daodejing #81
translated by Red Pine

http://www.duckdaotsu.org/jan07/ablution.html

(c)2007 lisbethwest
...............................................


the way of the haiku poet
is to write without words


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


A person who, alone,
has seen something beautiful,
who has heard something harmonious,
who has tasted something delicious,
who has smelt something fragrant,
may have enjoyed it, but not completely.

The complete joy is in
sharing one's joy with others.



Pir-O-Murshid Hazrat Inayat Khan
http://www.ruhaniat.org/lineage/HIKBio.php

...............................................


sharing joy
through a haiku -
spring sunshine


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


The ego is a monkey catapulting through the jungle.
Totally fascinated by the realm of the senses,
it swings from one desire to the next,
one conflict to the next,
one self-centered idea to the next.
If you threaten it, it actually fears for its life.

Let the monkey go.
Let the senses go.
Let desire go.
Let conflicts go.
Let ideas go.
Let the fiction of life and death go.
Just remain in the center, watching.

And then forget that you are there.


huahuching number ten
translated by Brian Walker


(c)2006 - 2007 lisbethwest
http://www.duckdaotsu.org/jan07/positioning.html

...............................................

the monkey gone
at least for now ...
a few haiku


.......................... Monkey Haiku
http://indiasaijikiworlkhaiku.blogspot.com/2006/01/monkey.html


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


Master Lu's Teachings

............................. The Child Inside

-Let the child live inside you , he is the primordial source of love and happiness.

-And how could I do that? I've asked.

-Clear out your mind from ballast.

-And how could I do that? I insisted.

-Don't think about advantage and loss,
about what is worth to achieve or not.
Be spontaneous just like the sea and the wind.


More of the teachings of Master LU is here
http://www.taopage.org/lu16.html

...............................................


the inner child
is at play - AND THEN
haiku arise



:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


The present is the only moment
that is truly ours,
and we ought to make use of it.

Blais Pascal

...............................................


and we ought to make haiku of it


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


Even a happy life cannot be
without a measure of darkness,
and the word happy would lose its meaning

if it were not balanced by sadness.
It is far better to take things as they come along
with patience and equanimity
.

Carl Jung


....................... I would just add

and with a haiku

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


TAO

Those who wish to embody the Tao should embrace all things.

To embrace all things means first t
hat one holds no anger or resistance
toward any idea or thing,
living or dead,
formed or formless.
Acceptance is the very essence of the Tao.

To embrace all things means also
that one rids oneself
of any concepts of separation: male and female, self
and others, life and death.
Division is contrary to the nature of the Tao.

Foregoing antagonism and separation,
one enters into the harmonious oneness
of all things.

huahuching #3, translated by Brian Walker
http://www.duckdaotsu.org/jan07/sound.html

(c) 2007 lisbethwest

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


Anxiety is the rust of life,
destroying its brightness and weakening its power.
A childlike and abiding trust in Providence
is its best preventive and remedy.


Tyron Edwards


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


More of "My favorite QUOTES"
to enjoy haiku even more




Spiritual Practise of the Day
from . . Spirituality & Practice.
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat



:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::















. . .

Happiness Quotes

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .