Buddhist Haiku

[Gabi Greve]

I'm not sure that this is the proper forum to discuss the ways in which Zen is different from other sects of Buddhism,
but I'm willing to enter into such a discussion, and
how those differences may or may not apply to the writing of haiku.
Larry

This sounds interesting to me! I would love to read more about the influence of the many Buddhist sects on haiku.
Are there for example haiku collections in Japan according to these criteria?
As I said earlier, I only studied the relevant kigo so far, but have not come across a study on the various believes with regard to the contents of haiku.

Gabi
.

[Gabi Greve]

kami to hotoke -

すゝしさや神と佛の隣同士
suzushisa ya kami to hotoke no tonaridooshi

this coolness !
Gods and Buddhas
side by side

Masaoka Shiki
Tr. Gabi Greve


We can have them both in one haiku!
http://wkdfestivalsaijiki.blogspot.com/2007/01/gods-kami-to-hotoke.html

Gabi
.

[Sue]

Hi Larry,

I find myself in affinity with Chiyo-ni, I believe she had a family before shaving her head. Maybe I will never shave mine but she speaks to me with a distinctive human/female voice of things I recognise and may share with her. I am not qualified to distinguish between one historical sect of Buddhism and another, and really I'm not very interested in religious denominational differences. Religions tend to add stuff which they then need to defend. I speak only from a kind of universal recognition of things which endure. It is that which amazes me about haiku. We can sit in our 21st century homes and hear the clear crystal voice of recognition down the centuries.


cool clear water
and fireflies that vanish
that is all there is...

speaks to me of Sunyata, of a state of mental calm in which the self has slipped away and only the calm water of clarity and the odd fleeting thing (to which we are no longer connected or interested) is left to be observed. If all the things in life which trouble us were reduced to fireflies how untroubled we would be!

one must bend
in the floating world -
snow on the bamboo

As the bamboo bends with the weight of snow, so we learn to bend with the weight of the work and concerns of the world. This world is insubstantial and flowing, she describes it as "floating" and in so doing distances herself from its insubstantial transience. She is in the world but not of it; flexible, and as transient as the snow.

over the flowing water
chasing its shadow -
the dragonfly

This makes me smile. It reminds me of times when I have observed myself chasing my own shadow. Chiyo seems to fly higher and have more of the view but still the slightly sardonic observation of the foolishness of the mind transmits itself in this haiku. I love that. There is something akin to the way one looks at one's children in this. It isn't a judgemental or critical view of something that ought to be something else, but rather a joy in the learning and exploration and playfulness - and of accepting things just as they are and loving them for it. Even when that something is ourselves.

a hundred different gourds
from the mind
of one vine

The vine is a common metaphor in Christianity too. And this one shows just how closely linked I feel to Chiyo and her long-ago-thought-thoughts. The vine IS what connects us. This living thing, this Dharma. There is no separation, no difference, no distance; we are fruit of the vine. Just as the mind of creativity creates in Chiyo's work so it can in mine. That is, once I learn to get out of the way and to write with the clarity I see in her work which I so admire.

the passing year --
irritating things
are also flowing water

So practical this, so human. There is no overlay of pretension or religious dogma, just the ordinary everyday practicality of living. Everyday life is the way. Irritations pass, all things pass.  Even our irritations are part of the flow. Its Ok. Its all of a oneness. Today, for Chiyo in this haiku, is a new year -  and tomorrow is always a new day. This moment is also a new one and we move from one molecule of time to the next seamlessly. I suppose "going with the flow" is a borrowing from Taoism but borrowing metaphors without pinning them down to concepts seems to me to be all part of the Zen way of doing things.

Sue

[Larry Bole]

Hi Sue,

It is refreshing to read such thoughtful responses as yours to Chiyo's haiku; responses that don't rely on labeling the haiku as being 'Zen', which I feel is used too often as an explanatory 'crutch'.

I have been reflecting on your additional comment that "borrowing metaphors without pinning them down to concepts seems to me to be all part of the Zen way of doing things." 

"The Zen way of doing things"--what a concept!

Larry   ;)

[Larry Bole]

P.S. And speaking of Zen not relying on concepts, I'm reminded of Krishnamurti's anecdote:

You may remember the story of how the devil and a friend of his were walking down the street, when they saw ahead of them a man stoop down and pick up something from the ground, look at it, and put it away in his pocket. The friend said to the devil, "What did that man pick up?" "He picked up a piece of the truth," said the devil. "That is a very bad business for you, then," said his friend. "Oh, not at all," the devil replied, "I am going to help him organize it."

Thus we have Soto Zen, Rinzai Zen, Obaku Zen...

[Sue]

I have been reflecting on your additional comment that "borrowing metaphors without pinning them down to concepts seems to me to be all part of the Zen way of doing things." 

"The Zen way of doing things"--what a concept!

Larry   ;)

Lol! Oh I know... but I'm only a learner and barefoot water skiing is a little above my pay grade

;)

[Sue]

P.S. And speaking of Zen not relying on concepts, I'm reminded of Krishnamurti's anecdote:

You may remember the story of how the devil and a friend of his were walking down the street, when they saw ahead of them a man stoop down and pick up something from the ground, look at it, and put it away in his pocket. The friend said to the devil, "What did that man pick up?" "He picked up a piece of the truth," said the devil. "That is a very bad business for you, then," said his friend. "Oh, not at all," the devil replied, "I am going to help him organize it."

Thus we have Soto Zen, Rinzai Zen, Obaku Zen...

So funny! I had to Google Obaku, never having heard of it before. It sounds like a hoot. Ming vases and chanting in 'approximated' Brummy accents! Terry Pratchett would love it!

Sue

[Gabi Greve]

Obaku temples are also famous for their good food ...

Manpukuji, where Chinese cuisine took root in Japan

The deep-rooted influence of Chinese culture is easily spotted in contemporary Japan, but perhaps most obviously in the nation's food culture. Manpukuji temple, founded here by a Chinese monk in the 17th century, played an essential role in the spread of Chinese cuisine across the nation.

Zen-style calligraphy and portraiture techniques introduced from China by the temple's monks and devotees were highly regarded by Japan's cultural elite at the time, but none equalled the impact of
fucha ryori　普茶料理, the Chinese-style Buddhist vegetarian cuisine. Indeed, its impact is still keenly felt today.

"The cuisine has had an unequalled effect on the development of Kansai's food culture," says Chisei Tanaka, a priest and chief researcher at the temple's Obaku Cultural Research Institute. "It brought new ingredients and combined boiling, grilling and steaming procedures."

"[After the founding of Manpukuji temple] the nation experienced a major boom in fucha ryori--much more exuberant than what you see for French or Italian food now," Tanaka says.
http://washokufood.blogspot.com/2008/05/noppejiru-niigata.html


mafu 麻腐（まふ）,  sesame tofu with sanshoo pepper
unpen 雲片（うんぺん） left over vegetables fried
kanpai 羹杯（かんぱい） hitashi type food
en , tsuai えん（菜）つぁい tsukemono pickles
hantsuu 飯子（はんつう) cooked rice

The list sounds like a poem to me ..

When leaving temple Manpukuji, the poetress Kikusha writes, summing up the Chinese atmosphere and the tea plantations:

山門を出れば日本ぞ茶摘うた
sanmon o dereba Nihon zo chatsumi uta

outside the temple gate
it's Japan again!
song of the tea pickers

. Tagami Kikusha 田上菊舎
(1753, August 23 -1826, September 24)


Gabi
(still hungry in the early morning.)
.

[hairy]

I was attracted to Buddhism at an early age and read Herrigal's "Zen in the Art of Archery" when it first came out in the American edition in 1960 (oh so long ago). But it left a lasting impression. Enjoying these great poems in honor of the Buddha. Here's one I  wrote recently:


sudden downpour
the stone buddha's
rain-filled smile


All Best,

Al

[DavidGrayson]

Al,

Very nice haiku. One association I have is water as the source of life. There's an interesting and complex interplay: inanimate stone, the face of the Buddha, and life-giving water. And the water not just on the statue, but filling and saturating the air.

I don't want to over analyze it – I enjoyed it in a straightforward way, too!

Thanks for sharing –

David     

[hairy]

David: Thanks for your insightful response.

All Love,

Al