Poetry Chaikhana Sacred Poetry from Around the World

Buddhist : Zen / Chan 17th Century	About Basho Timeline (1644 - 1694)
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Original Language Japanese	A banana plant in the autumn gale -
Commentary by Ivan M. Granger Themes   Night   Sound   Water       Recommended Books A Box of Zen: Haiku the Poetry of Zen, Koans the Lessons of Zen, Sayings the Wisdom of Zen, Edited by Manuela Dunn Mascetti / Edited by Timothy Hugh Barrett Classic Haiku: An Anthology of Poems by Basho and His Followers, Translated by Asataro Miyamori The Complete Basho Poems, Translated by Keith Harrison The Enlightened Heart: An Anthology of Sacred Poetry, by Stephen Mitchell Essential Haiku: Versions of Basho, Buson & Issa, Translated by Robert Hass More >>	A banana plant in the autumn gale - I listen to the dripping of rain Into a basin at night.
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Commentary by Ivan M. Granger

Basho took his name from the Japanese word for "banana tree." He was given a gift of a banana tree by a student and the poet immediately identified with it: the way the small tree just stood there with its large, soft, fragile leaves.

So, in this haiku, when Basho writes of "A banana plant in the autumn gale -" he is writing about himself, so open to everything that he just naturally flows with the harsh, swirling activity of the world around him.

Then the next two lines switch to an internal awareness, the quiet "dripping of rain." Despite the torrent outside, Basho is in meditation, patiently observing the gathering of the blissful liquid "into a basin" within.

Ivan M. Granger's original poetry, stories and commentaries are Copyright © 2002 - 2006 by Ivan M. Granger.
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