Short story: A sampling of some poems of a great Zen master

Tweet

Zen poetry on life and death A Zen master writes some haiku, and senryu poetry. The Zen master, Kaiku Hohko, was a poet for all of his long life. Here are a few of his best: Haiku: Hula, my dog Dogs are not nature. My dog lives only for me. Nature does not mind. Senryu: Mind your heart. Our mind never minds, our heart reminding our minds, kindness thinks kindly. Haiku: Animals equate The fox and the hen, depending on each other, bringing life into death. Haiku: The fly who died happy A fly lands on meat, the fly is in its Heaven. Fly in my mouth, hell. This next one was a senryu written shortly before he died. He had a few goes at it, and finally, he got it right to his own satisfaction. Senryu: My winter met my summer Alive at our birth, our own path is all alone, not dead to our death. then, he tried... Alive at our birth, our own path is not alone, nor dead to our death. then this: Alive at our birth, our own path is now alone, not dead to our death. to, finally, this last version, his last poem written in his life. Alive at our birth, our life path runs on its own, not dead in our death. Photo Credit: The photo used in this article was sourced from the free media site, pixabay.com The great master is captured here in all his beauty. (see photo)