Today's Beautiful Gem: Three Haikus by Chiyo-ni (1703-1775).

"The morning glory!
It has taken the well bucket,
I must ask elsewhere for water."

"Grazing
my fishing line--
the summer moon."

"From the mind
of a single, long vine,
one hundred opening lives."

Note: The first one was translated by Robert Aitken, the second
jointly by Jane Hirshfield, Michael Katz and Mariko Aratani, and,
the third by Hirshfield and Aratani. When beauty is expressed in
terms of Buddhism, it is a form of self-enjoyment. It seems, there
is a story behind the first haiku. The poetess was about to draw
water from the well one summer morning. She found the bucket
entwined by the vine of the morning glory. She was awe-struck by
the beauty of the scene that the first word she uttered was
morning glory! At that time, the writer was not conscious of
herself or the morning glory. Her mind was filled with the
flower, the whole world was turned into the flower, she was the
flower itself! Japanese poems are short and crisp, but deep in
their spiritual meaning. They are indeed word pictures.

om s'aantih: Peace! - J. K. Mohana Rao

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