Poetry Chaikhana Sacred Poetry from Around the World

Buddhist : Zen / Chan 14th Century	About Jusammi Chikako Timeline (14th Century)
| View All Poems by Jusammi Chikako |
English version by Edwin A. Cranston Original Language Japanese	On this summer night
Commentary by Ivan M. Granger Themes   Moon   Night         Recommended Books Women in Praise of the Sacred: 43 Centuries of Spiritual Poetry by Women, Edited by Jane Hirshfield	On this summer night All the household lies asleep,      And in the doorway, For once open after dark, Stands the moon, brilliant, cloudless.     -- from Women in Praise of the Sacred: 43 Centuries of Spiritual Poetry by Women, Edited by Jane Hirshfield Amazon.com
| View More Poems by Jusammi Chikako |

Commentary by Ivan M. Granger

I really like this brief verse by Jusammi Chikako.

The "house" here is the individual self. So when Jusammi Chikako says, "All the household lies asleep," she is stating that the mind has finally settled into perfect, still awareness.

The "doorway" is the threshhold of perception or, more specifically, the third eye, the eye of true perception.

"And in the doorway / For once open after dark, / Stands the moon, brilliant, cloudless." The moon represents the individual awareness perfectly reflecting the eternal light (of the sun). The full moon is Buddha mind, original mind. She has suddenly discovered it, been flooded with its "brilliant" light, utterly at peace beneath the unobstructed, "cloudless" night sky of awareness.

Ivan M. Granger's original poetry, stories and commentaries are Copyright © 2002 - 2008 by Ivan M. Granger.
All other material is copyrighted by the respective authors, translators and/or publishers.