The religious philosopher Jacob Needleman was asked in an interview: "When we question the meaning of life, you insist that we add the Earth to this query. Why is it important that we do so?"
He answered:
"One of the main aims of this book [Unknown World] is to see what it means for us that the Earth itself is a living being. Within a living organism everything that exists has a function, a role to play, in the whole of the life of which it is a part. Therefore, the meaning of human life is inseparable from the function that the human species is meant to serve as part of the living Earth. The central question of my book is: What, then, does the Earth really need from us?—far beyond the kind of efforts we are making to fix the environmental crisis we have created. Since everything human is part of the Earth, and is meant to play an essential role in the very evolution of the Earth—then everything human, including especially our inner and most inmost life, has an essential function within the life of the planet." (1)
Following the thread of Needleman's idea, I imagine that there would be two principal tasks for haiku poets. The first task is to simply describe the world as-is (the "organism").
indian summer
the intersecting circles
of hawks
- Carolyn Hall (2)
Of course, this is the classic shasei approach, which Lee Gurga defines as the poet learning to simply "record what he or she sees, hears, smells, tastes, and touches." (3)
A second task would be an attempt toward communion with the environment and all of its inhabitants:
at the fence
we tell our stories ...
the old horse and I
- Joan Vistain (4)
A central component of each of these tasks is communication. Citing the concept of quantum entanglement from physics, the poet Christian Wiman wrote that "if related particles react in similar or opposite ways even when separated by tremendous distances, then it is obvious that the whole world is alive and communicating in ways we do not fully understand. And we are part of that life, part of that communication ..." (5)
I'm curious about how other haiku poets view Needleman's idea of the meaning of life being inseparable from the function of our species as part of "the living Earth." Are there haiku that you've come across that reflect or embody this idea? Have you composed any haiku that do?
Notes:
(1) Jacob Needleman. Blog post: "Responding to Questions About An Unknown World," February 9, 2013. http://www.jacobneedleman.com/blog/?offset=1364933100000 (Accessed December 27, 2014).
(2) Carolyn Hall, Water Lines, ed. John Barlow (Liverpool: Snapshot Press, 2006), 29.
(3) Lee Gurga, Haiku: A Poet's Guide (Lincoln, Illinois: Modern Haiku Press, 2003), 133.
(4) Joan Vistain, Acorn: A Journal of Contemporary Haiku (Spring 2013), 38.
(5) Christian Wiman, My Bright Abyss: Meditation of a Modern Believer (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2013), 35.
.Dear David,Quote from: DavidGrayson on January 03, 2015, 02:27:21 AM
The religious philosopher Jacob Needleman was asked in an interview: "When we question the meaning of life, you insist that we add the Earth to this query. Why is it important that we do so?"
He answered:
"One of the main aims of this book [Unknown World] is to see what it means for us that the Earth itself is a living being. Within a living organism everything that exists has a function, a role to play, in the whole of the life of which it is a part. Therefore, the meaning of human life is inseparable from the function that the human species is meant to serve as part of the living Earth. The central question of my book is: What, then, does the Earth really need from us?—far beyond the kind of efforts we are making to fix the environmental crisis we have created. Since everything human is part of the Earth, and is meant to play an essential role in the very evolution of the Earth—then everything human, including especially our inner and most inmost life, has an essential function within the life of the planet." (1)
Following the thread of Needleman's idea, I imagine that there would be two principal tasks for haiku poets. The first task is to simply describe the world as-is (the "organism").
indian summer
the intersecting circles
of hawks
- Carolyn Hall (2)
Of course, this is the classic shasei approach, which Lee Gurga defines as the poet learning to simply "record what he or she sees, hears, smells, tastes, and touches." (3)
A second task would be an attempt toward communion with the environment and all of its inhabitants:
at the fence
we tell our stories ...
the old horse and I
- Joan Vistain (4)
A central component of each of these tasks is communication. Citing the concept of quantum entanglement from physics, the poet Christian Wiman wrote that "if related particles react in similar or opposite ways even when separated by tremendous distances, then it is obvious that the whole world is alive and communicating in ways we do not fully understand. And we are part of that life, part of that communication ..." (5)
I'm curious about how other haiku poets view Needleman's idea of the meaning of life being inseparable from the function of our species as part of "the living Earth." Are there haiku that you've come across that reflect or embody this idea? Have you composed any haiku that do?
Notes:
(1) Jacob Needleman. Blog post: "Responding to Questions About An Unknown World," February 9, 2013. http://www.jacobneedleman.com/blog/?offset=1364933100000 (Accessed December 27, 2014).
(2) Carolyn Hall, Water Lines, ed. John Barlow (Liverpool: Snapshot Press, 2006), 29.
(3) Lee Gurga, Haiku: A Poet's Guide (Lincoln, Illinois: Modern Haiku Press, 2003), 133.
(4) Joan Vistain, Acorn: A Journal of Contemporary Haiku (Spring 2013), 38.
(5) Christian Wiman, My Bright Abyss: Meditation of a Modern Believer (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2013), 35.
I've long believed that the planet should have its own rights, and that all life should have equal rights, not just the human variant of animal existence, but everything, whether we deem it sentient or not, whether we ignore the spirituality of other life.
From the influence of the moon, and the micro-denizens that contribute to life on Earth:hunter's moon
the runes of mice
in its wake
Alan Summers
Publication Credit: Mainichi (Japan, December 1st 2014)
Kirkstone Pass
a sheepdog gathers
its part of the world
url: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirkstone_Pass
Alan Summers
Publication Credit: Muttering Thunder vol. 1, November 2014
To memories past and ongoing in all life as it flexes, sustains, supports, and urges new life...a memory
in the muscle museum...
rain begins to fall
Alan Summers
Publication Credit: Scope vol. 60 no. 9 (FAWQ magazine October 2014
dandelions
gingerly pushing out...
micro civilisations
Alan Summers
Publication Credit: hedgerow: a journal of small poems (Issue 1, September 2014)
And the nightlife outside human preoccupation with itself...after rain midnight dreams a hedgehog
Alan Summers
Publication Credit: brass bell: a haiku journal
One-Line Haiku curated by Zee Zahava (Monday, September 1, 2014)
night of small colour
a part of the underworld
becomes one heron
Alan Summers
Publication Credit: Modern Haiku Vol. 45.2 Summer 2014
Haiku poetry can be an incredible record of life, and of course humans through their own brand of 'writing' can attest to the miracle of our water planet, so beautifully seen from outside our atmosphere, and not nearly enough marvelled at on land:Milky Way Train
I bring my inner child
down to earth
Alan Summers
Publication Credit: hedgerow: a journal of small poems (Issue 1, September 2014)
Hi Alan,
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and haiku. Each one of the haiku says something important and I enjoyed all of them.
My favorites (at first reading) ...
Kirkstone Pass
a sheepdog gathers
its part of the world
(each one of us is focused on our own "part of the world" ... very humbling)
Milky Way Train
I bring my inner child
down to earth
night of small colour
a part of the underworld
becomes one heron
I love the line "night of small colour"
I like your usage of the word "miracle" in describing our planet. Haiku, especially the shasei approach, really is about recognizing the "miracle" of life around us.
Best,
David