Saturday, October 18, 2003
Just came back from a short visit to the TPY National Library... Borrowed this book on "Haiku -- The Poetry of Zen" cos i wanted something simple and Un- novel to read, other than my textbooks... and i guess it's really quite a gem! it's short and sweet, just like haikus... Lots of haikus from the 4 seasons, maybe i shall put up one everyday in my blog?
and Haikus are sooo Zen... u know how the idea of Zen originated?
A monk once asked his Master, " No matter what lies ahead, what is the Way?" The Master quickly replied, " The Way is your daily life." This concept is at the very center of the Way of Zen. The principles that govern the Way are directed toward all of our existence, not just to the part that takes place in the meditation hall. The challenge of Zen is to meet, each day, each moment with a clear mind and a cleansed spirit, so that the moment to moment union with existence becomes the highest teaching. This is the heartbeat that makes Zen today just as significant as when it was first brought from India to China by the wandering monk Bodhidharma in the year 520.
so reading haikus can have a really calming effect on our mind. i can feel my soul slowly purified, the chaos in my head slowly oozing out *exaggerating* i think haikus are so pure, so simple, yet so profound...
Zen has many flowerings, arts, and disciplines to which the Way (do) has been applied to create yet other forms of meditation and learning: chado, the way of tea; kado, the way of flowers; kendo, the way of the sword; kyudo, Zen archery; judo, Zen self-defense; shado, Zen calligraphy. The underlying dynamism of all these arts is the full perception of the moment – being here and now – and this force is nowhere made more profound than the subtle art of haiku.
and this trip to the library was rather fulfilling... shall reread all the haikus again, and select one for each day to put on my blog... at least for 2 wks? it's gonna keep me occupied during the days when i'm at home and feeling super stressed up...
for today:
Autumn afternoon…
Without a ripple three white clouds
Cross the pond.
Patricia Neubaumer
to commemorate this Autumn Afternoon, when i relive haikus since Sec 1... :)
| posted by clouds at 4:08 PM
