"I am not one who was born in the custody of wisdom. I am one who is fond of olden times and intense in quest of the sacred knowing of the ancients." Gustave Courbet

26 July 2017

Haiku.


Japanese Zen is associated with many forms of art -- painting, calligraphy, flower arranging, shakuhachi flute, martial arts. Even the tea ceremony qualifies as a kind of Zen art. Poetry is also a traditional Zen art, and the form of Zen poetry best known in the West is haiku.

Haiku, minimalist poems usually in three lines, have been popular in the West for decades. Unfortunately, many of the traditional principles of haiku writing are still not well understood in the West.

Much western "haiku" isn't haiku at all. What is haiku, and what makes it a Zen art?

CONNECT

No comments: