carpe Diem #1191 (spring) shawl or haru shoru

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at a new episode of CDHK. This month we are exploring classical kigo (seasonwords) for spring.
In spring it can be cold, but mostly not as cold as in winter, but when it's "spring"-cold you sometimes need a shawl not one of wool, but of cotton or linen, warm but not that warm just to prevent you from the spring cold. I wonder if such a shawl (haru shoru) was mentioned in haiku. Let us take a look in the past ...

It took a lot of time to research this, but I didn't found haiku with this seasonword, so what to do next? Maybe we can create the first haiku with "haru shoru" or spring shawl. Or maybe I have to dive into another shawl which is very important in Zen Buddhism.

So I think we have to make a jump into Buddhism and the meaning of a holy scarf or khata, maybe you have heard from it and maybe you have once seen how it was given to someone else. Let me give you a white khata virtualy as a token from my gratefulness of being your host.

Giving You a Khata, a token of my love

What is the meaning of a khata?

The khata symbolizes purity and compassion and are worn or presented with incense at many ceremonial occasions, including births, weddings, funerals, graduations and the arrival or departure of guests. It is usually made of silk. Tibetan khatas are usually white, symbolising the pure heart of the giver, though it is quite common to find yellow-gold khata as well. Tibetan, Nepali, and Bhutanese khatas feature the ashtamangala. There are also special multi-colored khatas. Mongolian khatas are usually blue, symbolizing the blue sky. Mongolia, khatas are also often tied to ovoos, stupas, or special trees and rocks.

a token of love
I bow my head and present to you
a khata ...

© Chèvrefeuille

Well ... not a classical haiku, but it is for sure a haiku that comes right from my heart.

Namasté

This episode is open for your submissions tonight at 7.00 PM (CET) and will remain open until April 21st at noon (CET). I will try to post our next episode, white sake, later on.