Poetry Chaikhana Sacred Poetry from Around the World

Buddhist : Zen / Chan 18th Century	About Kobayashi Issa Timeline (1763 - 1828)
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English version by Lucien Stryk and Takashi Ikemoto Original Language Japanese	Reflected
Commentary by Ivan M. Granger Themes   Mountain           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 The Enlightened Heart: An Anthology of Sacred Poetry, by Stephen Mitchell The Poetry of Zen: (Shambhalla Library), Edited by Sam Hamill / Edited by J. P. Seaton Zen Poetry: Let the Spring Breeze Enter, Translated by Lucien Stryk / Translated by Takashi Ikemoto	Reflected in the dragonfly's eye -- mountains.     -- from Zen Poetry: Let the Spring Breeze Enter, Translated by Lucien Stryk / Translated by Takashi Ikemoto Amazon.com
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Commentary by Ivan M. Granger

To appreciate the depth of this haiku, imagine the qualities of a dragonfly. It is beautiful, ephemeral, almost ethereal. Its wings are transluscent, yet glisten with rainbow colors when they catch the light. On summer days it darts about, almost impossible to catch, than hovers still, in midair, contemplating the world about it.

And its eyes, in Issa's haiku, reflect.

One way to understand this poem is that the dragonfly represents the mind become self aware, resplendent, delighting in its intangible beauty. It darts here and there, and then stabilizes. In recognizing its own insignifigance, it becomes alive to a world of wonder that surrounds it.

In this way, even a dragonfly's minute eye reflects the grandeur of the mountains. The mind, in its stillness, in recognizing its nothingness, manages to reflect the immensity of eternity.

Ivan M. Granger's original poetry, stories and commentaries are Copyright © 2002 - 2008 by Ivan M. Granger.
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