{"id":5987,"date":"2018-01-26T09:08:48","date_gmt":"2018-01-26T16:08:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/?p=5987"},"modified":"2018-01-26T09:11:24","modified_gmt":"2018-01-26T16:11:24","slug":"buson-miles-of-frost","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/2018\/01\/26\/buson-miles-of-frost\/","title":{"rendered":"Buson – Miles of frost"},"content":{"rendered":"

Miles of frost
\nby Buson<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

English version by Lucien Stryk and Takashi Ikemoto<\/font><\/p>\n

Miles of frost —
\non the lake
\nthe moon’s my own.<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/a> — from Zen Poetry: Let the Spring Breeze Enter<\/a>, Translated by Lucien Stryk \/ Translated by Takashi Ikemoto<\/font><\/p>\n


\/ Image by 4k1<\/a> \/<\/em><\/font><\/p>\n

This haiku doesn’t emphasize that pivot that startles the awareness into new insight. Instead, it offers us a pure moment of winter solitude at dusk.<\/p>\n

Miles of frost —<\/i><\/p>\n

This phrasing suggests not only a chilly evening, but a landscape of silence. No activity. No carts on the road. No animals scurrying in the underbrush. Nothing but untouched frost upon the land.<\/p>\n

In the midst of this scene of chill stillness stands the implied observer — us. We stand there alone in the quiet scene, elevated as the solitary presence, wrapped in curling mist of our own breath.<\/p>\n

And then we see the moon reflected upon the lake’s surface at twilight. <\/p>\n

on the lake
\nthe moon’s my own.<\/i><\/p>\n

With no one else to witness it, the moon becomes a private gift. The moon and the observer share this moment of intimacy in the silent company of the lake.<\/p>\n

We can, if we choose, read this in a more consciously spiritual light: The full moon is often used to suggest enlightened awareness. The lake is mind. When the surface is still, the mind has grown quiet and it reflects the serene light of the moon. The miles of frost can suggest the wider world as perceived by the senses has also been quieted through spiritual practice. In this unified state of stillness, the moon, enlightenment, becomes one’s own.<\/p>\n

Or perhaps it is only a lake and the moon on a quiet night. Then again, perhaps the moon’s reflection whispers to us of enlightenment, whether we recognize it or not.<\/p>\n


\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/a>Recommended Books: Buson<\/font><\/b><\/p>\n\n

<\/p>\n

\n\n\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

<\/center>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/td>\n<\/a><\/td>\n<\/a><\/td>\n<\/a><\/td>\n<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Zen Poetry: Let the Spring Breeze Enter<\/a><\/small><\/td>\nThe Poetry of Zen: (Shambhala Library)<\/a><\/small><\/td>\nThe Moon Over Tagoto: Selected Haiku of Buson<\/a><\/small><\/td>\n<\/a><\/small><\/td>\n<\/a><\/small><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n\n
\n\"Buson,<\/a>\n<\/td>\n\nBuson<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Japan (1716 – 1784) Timeline<\/a>
\nBuddhist<\/a> : Zen \/ Chan<\/a>
\n<\/a><\/a><\/em>\n<\/td>\n

[ad#Adsense-4]<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

<\/p>\n

Taniguchi Buson (or Yosa Buson) was known in his day primarily as an excellent painter, but today he is often grouped with Basho and Issa as among the finest writers of haiku poetry.<\/p>\n

He was born outside of Osaka, Japan, but lost both parents while still young. He moved to Edo (Tokyo) to study painting and haiku. He later settled in Kyoto, making a name for himself as a painter.<\/p>\n

When we compare Buson with Basho, Buson’s haiku are more crafted than Basho’s, showing the precision of a painter’s eye.<\/p>\n

More poetry by Buson<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Miles of frost by Buson English version by Lucien Stryk and Takashi Ikemoto Miles of frost — on the lake the moon’s my own. — from Zen Poetry: Let the Spring Breeze Enter, Translated by Lucien Stryk \/ Translated by Takashi Ikemoto \/ Image by 4k1 \/ This haiku doesn’t emphasize that pivot that startles […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[650,276,1255,419],"class_list":["post-5987","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-poetry","tag-buson","tag-japanese-haiku","tag-lake","tag-moon"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5987","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5987"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5987\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5991,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5987\/revisions\/5991"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5987"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5987"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5987"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}