As with my last article on the subject of Zen Koans on Buddha Weekly, these are my interpretations alone, poetry means different things to different people and there are no ‘wrong’ interpretations of the poems below.Īs Jane Reichhold, translator of all of Basho’s Haiku into English, and an accomplished Haiku poet herself states about Basho’s religious beliefs: …haiku and Zen are often closely linked. This article then will be about a number of Basho’s Haiku that I feel have a particular Zen flavour or that have inspired me as a Buddhist myself. Even though Haiku are normally associated with Zen Buddhism in popular culture, it should be noted that they aren’t specifically a ‘Buddhist form of poetry’ and anyone can write a Haiku, whether they are Buddhist or not as a great post here that states, poetry and Haiku are universal.īasho though, was a Zen Buddhist and a lay monk, and did incorporate many Buddhist themes into his poetry and some can be read as inspiring through a Buddhist lens, whether they were meant to be read that way or not. Haikus are short Japanese poems, traditionally composed of three lines in a 5-7-5 seventeen syllable format. He is the undisputed master of the now world-famous Haiku form of poetry. Matsuo Basho (1644-1694) is regarded as among the greatest poets - not only in Japanese literature, but worldwide. ![]() ![]() Matsuo Basho, 1644-1694, painted by Kamimura Hakuo.
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