HAIKU: Zen Poems to Leave you Breathless

A world of dew, And in every dewdrop A world of struggle. - Kobayashi Issa (1763 - 1828) Which Haiku speaks to you most?

"Seek not follow in the footsteps of wise men, but seek which they sought" I needed that

2:32 - "I am already dead. How futile then, to worry on what may kill me." - Unknown

“It is only when mosquito land on your balls that you realize there is a way to solve problems without using violence.” -Sun Tzu "art of war"

"Be still. Stillness reveals the secrets of eternity." - Laozi

burning a candle illuminate darkness be the flame

“True happiness is to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence upon the future, not to amuse ourselves with either hopes or fears but to rest satisfied with what we have, which is sufficient, for he that is so wants nothing. The greatest blessings of mankind are within us and within our reach. A wise man is content with his lot, whatever it may be, without wishing for what he has not.” - Seneca

My coming. My going. Two simple happenings that got entangled.

A world of dew, And in every dewdrop A world of struggle. Awesome Lines

Thank you for easing me into the night with this. So calming, yet filled with strength.

Death Poem of Uesugi Kenshin 1530-1578. "Even a life-long prosperity is but one cup of sake; A life of forty-nine years is passed in a dream; I know not what life is, nor death. Year in year out-all but a dream. Both Heaven and Hell are left behind; I stand in the moonlit dawn, Free from clouds of attachment." Haiku version:      "Forty Nine Years;      One night's dream.      A lifetime of glory; a cup of sake."

"Face to face with death, I unsheathe my sharpened sword - the blade is broken." - Dairin Soto

"One who Believes in himself has no need to convince others." - Laozi.

"Basho has tremendous respect in my heart. He is not only a mystic, a master, he is also a poet, a painter, a sculptor; he is a creative phenomenon. Nobody can compare with him as far as his multidimensional personality is concerned. He has the fragrance which only a flower can have. That fragrance is manifested in his poetry, in his small statements, in his every gesture. Even in his ordinary talks with people he cannot be other than Basho. Basho is far more refined, perhaps the most refined Zen master up to now. His refinement is in his cultured, meditative spaciousness. Out of that spaciousness many flowers have showered on the world. It does not matter wherever he is and whatever is going on, Basho is going to make it a Zen state of affairs. That uniqueness will not be found again. Basho is one of the greatest poets of the world, but he has written only haikus — very symbolic but very miraculous, very simple but very mysterious. They are all to be understood through visualization, because Zen does not believe in words. Visualize and perhaps you may have some understanding. A meditator, according to Basho, will go on searching deep within himself, but that does not mean that he should lose contact with the outside world. Once in a while he should open his eyes. With all his emptiness he should mirror the outside world. Those reflections are collected in these haikus. They don’t mean anything, they simply depict a picture. Basho is the greatest haiku poet of Japan, the Master haiku poet. But he was not just a poet. Before becoming a poet he was a mystic; before he starting pouring out with beautiful poetry, he poured deep into his own center. He was a meditator. It happened when Basho’s master died — Basho is a buddha, a buddha who writes poetry, a buddha who paints beautiful pictures, a very aesthetic buddha. His master died, thousands of people gathered. His master was very famous; more famous because of Basho, because Basho was a famous poet and painter and he was Basho’s master. Thousands of people gathered and they were very much surprised when they saw Basho crying, big tears rolling down his cheeks. A few close disciples of his master came to Basho and said, “It does not look right. Thousands of people are coming and they are getting confused. They don’t think a buddha should be crying and weeping, and you are the man who has been saying to them again and again: There is no death and the innermost core lives forever. Then why are you weeping? Your master is not dead, he has only moved from the small body to the universal body of God. So why are you weeping?” Basho wiped his tears and he said, “Listen! This is nobody’s business. I live according to my inner feelings, I cannot pretend. When my innermost core has disappeared into the universal. don’t care whether people think it right or not. If they don’t think that I am enlightened it’s okay, but I cannot pretend. I cannot do something which is not really there. And yes, I have said that the soul is immortal and my master has not died, he has disappeared into the universal. That’s why I am crying, not crying that he is dead but crying that now I will never be able to see his form. Now he has become formless — and his body was beautiful. I will never be able to look again into those deep eyes, I will never be able to hold his hand and touch his feet. I have lost his form — I am crying for his body, for his form; I am not crying for the formless soul. And I am not concerned whether people think me enlightened or unenlightened, that is their business. Who cares?”

“Clouds come time to time And bring men a chance to rest From looking at the Moon”❤️❤️❤️

He who has a ​why to live for can bear almost any how – Friedrich Nietzsche.​

Beautifully done. Perfect Haiku's. Each flowing into the next. I've never seen that before. A very nice treat. Thank you.

"A Gladiator's first mistake is his last." - Oenomaus.

A great warrior speaks with wisdom

Very strong thoughts! In general, Buddhism, in my opinion, is one of the most interesting and mystical religions with many secrets. When I read a book about Buddhism, this belief stood out to me more than others. The film "Shogun" in its original version perfectly shows us the whole philosophy of the samurai.) The closest thing to me is the thought of where do broken dreams go? If they are not destined to come true, then they will certainly be realized in our beloved future children! This is the law of karma. Sometimes dreams involuntarily come true in the future generation of our family. The main thing is to be persistent in spirit, not to give up and be able to dream.