midnight -- no waves, no wind
by Eihei DogenEnglish version by Adjei Agyei-Baah & Gabriel Rosenstock
Original Language Japanese
midnight -- no waves, no wind
empty boat
flooded with moonlight
 | -- from The Awakened One: Buddha-Themed Haiku from Around the World, Edited by Adjei Agyei-Baah / Edited by Gabriel Rosenstock |
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/ Image by Osman Rana /
We don't have to hand this haiku over to the intellect to immediately understand its implications, do we? Let's briefly sketch it out.
Midnight. A still lake, an empty boat filled with moonlight.
No activity. The mind is at rest. Emotions are calm, the will is content. In this quiet moment what we normally think of as ourselves is found to be empty, spacious, egoless. But the emptiness is not empty, it is filled with with the light of awareness. More than filled, flooded. And what does a flooded boat do? It sinks. It gives itself to the embrace of the illuminated water. Only the light and the quiet lake remain.
Or perhaps it is just a moment in time. It is what it is and nothing more: Midnight. A still lake, an empty boat filled with moonlight.
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Hurricane Ida and its aftermath are very much in my thoughts. And the fires in California and elsewhere around the globe.
The earth speaks, sometimes we listen.
I hope you are all safe and well.
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The Awakened One
The Awakened One
Buddha-Themed Haiku from Around the World
Edited by Adjei Agyei-Baah and Gabriel Rosenstock
$8.95 / £6.50 / €7.60
US - CAN - UK - FR - DE - IT - ES - AUS
I am still playing catching up with the release of the Poetry Chaikhana's new publication, The Awakened One: Buddha-Themed Haiku from Around the World, edited by Adjei Agyei-Baah and Gabriel Rosenstock. Initial sales have been solid, but I am still investigating the best ways to ship copies to readers (and some of the haiku writers!) in countries such as Nigeria, Croatia, and Japan. The Poetry Chaikhana website itself is patiently waiting for me to add a new page highlighting The Awakened One. A lot of work goes into a little book!
The Awakened One is a beautiful book, a good gift to yourself and one to share with friends. Purchasing a copy is also an excellent way to support the Poetry Chaikhana. It makes a perfect companion to Gabriel Rosenstock's explorations of haiku and awareness in Haiku Enlightenment.
May you be flooded with moonlight!
Recommended Books: Eihei Dogen
