None calls upon me, or remembers me in my mountain village.
On the reeds by the thin hedge, the Autumn winds are sighing.
~The Sarashina Diary, A.D. 1009-1059 (Diaries of Old Japan)
Uncategorized
life’s passages … 34
we tell stories
of the far mountains
’round the brazier ~Issa*
Stories, myths, and parables acknowledge and respect the unique individuality of each of us. Myths give voice, through their use of symbols, to what is hidden, unknown, or evasive. Stories that share the dynamics of human interactions silently plant a seed of personal truth in the dark component of each of us, waiting for the appropriate time to bloom and to nourish. They also illustrate the universal theme of suffering and its resolution. Parables, with their multiple levels of meaning, honor the unique perspective and understanding of both listener and speaker. These multiple layers of meaning touch what is salient to the reader and thus gift all readers with an invitation to define for self their own understanding, interpretation, and application.**
*cited: haikuguy.com
**Excerpts from B Koeford, A Meditative Journey with Saldage
life’s passages … 33
only a memory
our neighbor’s tasty rice cakes
at our gate as before ~Issa*
*cited: Trans: Sam Hamill, Spring of my Life
life’s passages … 32
As if nothing had happened
– the crow there
the willow here
~Issa
life’s passages … 31
First snow! I see it young every winter,
Yet my face grows old
As Winter comes. ~ The Diary of Izumi Shikibu*
*cited: Trans: Annie Shepley Omori & Kochi Doi Diaries of Court Ladies of Old Japan
monochrome madness 1 – letter b
a well-read book of haiku submitted for Leanne’s Monochrome Madness challenge: the letter B
life’s passages … 28
monochrome Monday
She is like the Moon, who, opening the gate of Heaven,
goes up over the clouds.
We, being in the same heavenly Palace, pass the night
in remembering the footfalls of the past. ~unknown
life passages … 27
Silently
time passes.
The only life I have
submits to its power. ~Hatsui Shizue*
*cited: Trans: K Rexroth and I Atsumi, The Burning Heart
life’s passages …25
Blow if you will,
fall winds–the flowers
have all faded. ~Gansan*
*cited: Yoel Hoffman, Japanese Death Pomes
monochrome madness
life’s passages … 23
Looking backward ... I cannot see the ancients of days.
Looking forward ... I cannot see ages yet to come.
Only heaven and earth have remained,
And will remain forever ...
I am alone, I grieve, I drop tears into the dust ~Chen Tzu-ang
(cited: Trans: Anonymous, The Jade Flute Chinese Poems in Prose. The Project Gutenberg
a meditative journey 
You must be logged in to post a comment.