{"id":6061,"date":"2018-04-06T07:49:51","date_gmt":"2018-04-06T14:49:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/?p=6061"},"modified":"2018-04-06T07:49:51","modified_gmt":"2018-04-06T14:49:51","slug":"buson-clinging-to-the-bell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/2018\/04\/06\/buson-clinging-to-the-bell\/","title":{"rendered":"Buson – Clinging to the bell"},"content":{"rendered":"

Clinging to the bell
\nby Buson<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

English version by Sam Hamill<\/font><\/p>\n

Clinging to the bell,
\nhe dozes so peacefully,
\nthis new butterfly<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/a> \u2014 from The Poetry of Zen: (Shambhala Library)<\/a>, Edited by Sam Hamill \/ Edited by J. P. Seaton<\/font><\/p>\n


\/ Image by Rafaelfo<\/a> \/<\/em><\/font><\/p>\n

This haiku is so precise and specific that you can\u2019t help but step into the scene sketched for us: A butterfly dozing, at peace on an unstruck bell.<\/p>\n

The moment suggests such stillness, yet there is that underlying tension and anticipation. That bell can be rung at any moment, startling the butterfly.<\/p>\n

The bell might suggest a temple or monastery. It signals a change in awareness, the call to prayer or to duty.<\/p>\n

Should we think of the butterfly as a butterfly? Or a monk, perhaps? Or ourselves? It is \u201cnew,\u201d young, inexperienced. Is its peaceful rest naive? Or is it the natural result of its simplicity?<\/p>\n

When the bell is struck, will the butterfly attain wakefulness, or lose its peace?<\/p>\n

I really like the way this haiku can be turned around and around, yet we keep returning to that perfect still point, dozing on the unstruck bell.<\/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 \u2013 1784) Timeline<\/a>
\nBuddhist<\/a> : Zen \/ Chan<\/a>
\n<\/a><\/a><\/em>\n<\/td>\n

<\/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\u2019s haiku are more crafted than Basho\u2019s, showing the precision of a painter\u2019s eye.<\/p>\n

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

Clinging to the bell by Buson English version by Sam Hamill Clinging to the bell, he dozes so peacefully, this new butterfly \u2014 from The Poetry of Zen: (Shambhala Library), Edited by Sam Hamill \/ Edited by J. P. Seaton \/ Image by Rafaelfo \/ This haiku is so precise and specific that you can\u2019t […]<\/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":[652,40,650,651,125,276],"class_list":["post-6061","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-poetry","tag-bell","tag-buddhist-poetry","tag-buson","tag-butterfly","tag-haiku","tag-japanese-haiku"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6061","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=6061"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6061\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6062,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6061\/revisions\/6062"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6061"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6061"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6061"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}