Carpe Diem #1472 emptiness

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

My apologies for being late. I had a very busy day on our chemo-therapy unit. So I hadn't time earlier to create this new episode of our Imagination Without Limits month, July 2018. So ... because of being late I will only give you the image for today to inspire you. I think it's another beautiful image and I hope it will inspire you to create your Japanese poetry.

Emptiness

what happened?
left coffee cup
her perfume

© Chèvrefeuille (experimental haiku)

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until July 17th at noon (CEST). I will try to publish our new episode later on. For now ... have fun!

Carpe Diem #1290 spiritual way - Haiku's state of mind - zen

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Our celebration month is almost over, we have only three regular prompts to work with and two (this weekend, musical episodes. Our trip along memory lane has brought us into 2017. 2017 Was a year of changes. For example I decided to create a new feature "weekend-meditation" and I prolonged the time of responding. These changes were not only for me, but also for you. The "weekend-meditation" feature gave me the opportunity to take weekends off and the responding time prolonging was especially for you, but it gave me also more time to create new episodes and to visit you all.

And there was that new feature "Carpe Diem's Namasté, the Spiritual Way" in which I taught you all a little more about the spiritual background of haiku (and other Japanese poetry forms). Today's episode in our "trip along memory lane" brings us to the spring of 2017. To be precise ... to March. In one of the "weekend-meditations" I brought a "CD Namasté episode" about the state of mind of haiku Zen.

Let me quote myself:

[...] "To start with I have a haiku in which one of the most important issues of Zen Buddhism, Emptiness, is mentioned and with that haiku I hope to start this episode of Namasté and bring it to a great end.

an empty bowl
but in it is the spirit of emptiness -
the spring breeze

© Chèvrefeuille

This is the "heart" of haiku .... emptiness .... based on the ideas and thoughts of Zen Buddhism, but in haiku it's not only "emptiness" it is also "selflessness", "loneliness", "wordlessness", "simplicity" and "grateful acceptance". And of course there will be more to say, but that is not possible in the shallowness of this episode ..." [...]

logo CD Namasté 

I remember my first haiku book, it was a small anthology of my Dutch haiku, nice lay out and a few paintings by myself. That first haiku book was titled "Leegte" ("Emptiness") and it was not only because of the idea that haiku is emptiness, as in the Zen way, but in the lay out I also had chosen to create that "Emptiness" by printing only one haiku on every (A4) page. In that way I not onkly shared the "Emptiness" of the haiku, but also that Zen "Emptiness".

Emptiness ... I think every haiku (or tanka or other Japanese poetry form) needs that. It makes your poetry stronger and your reader will be feeling one with the haiku, because it's the only thing on a page he reads ... how much more stronger do you want to make the emptiness?

boundless world
the tranquil gardens of the temple 
I empty my mind
to make room for another thought
emptiness is cool

© Chèvrefeuille

rice straw

piece of straw
blown off into emptiness
a new beginning

© Chèvrefeuille

Two nice poems in which I have tried to bring in "emptiness", here is a last one, a redone "cascading haiku".

one empty bowl
thrown away in the sink
the faint scent of tea
as I empty the kettle -
time for coffee

© Chèvrefeuille

Well ... I hope you did like this trip back in the close by history of CDHK. And I hope it will inspire you to create your haiku, tanka or other Japanese poetry form.

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until November 2nd at noon (CET). I hope to publish our new episode, another nice piece of inspirational music, later on.

Carpe Diem Tan Renga Challenge #84, "from a treetop"

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

First I love to thank you all for your kind words according the "trouble" at my work. Yesterday I have had a wonderful, very spiritual, conversation with my head of unit. It was really a beautiful conversation and the problems which were the reason for my "conflict" have been solved. Really it's great to open up in a conversation and meet each other in the middle to come closer to each other. It was really an experience which had to be I think.

Ok ... back to our Tan Renga Challenge. We are on the trail with Basho as you all know and the Tan Renga of today starts with a beautiful haiku composed by Basho. Again a haiku which isn't well known, but it's a beauty. This haiku was for sure the starting verse or "hokku" for a Renga session in which Basho was part of. He is in his early thirties, already a well known Renga master, and his haiku are becoming better and better ... and more beautiful. Ok ... enough trumpeting .... you all know how much I adore Basho and his haiku. Here is our "hokku" for this new Tan Renga Challenge:

from a treetop
emptiness dropped down
in a cicada shell

© Basho (Tr. Jane Reichhold)

Well .... I think I have said nothing to much about this haiku .... a real beauty, maybe one of his best haiku he ever wrote, but that's just my humble opinion, but I am of course prejudiced (smiles).

Credits: Cicada shell

In this haiku I read Zen ... and the scene is Zen I think. Basho as always is on the trail and has eye for everything and everyone around him. He is really part of nature and is one with it. He has eye for the little things and is in complete awe as he sees the empty shell of a cicada lying under a tree. This shell is empty, but once was full of life ... Is this shell really empty? I would ask myself and as I give this a thought than I say ... "no this shell isn't empty, in this empty shell is still the cicada present ..."

The goal of this Tan Renga Challenge is to make the Tan Renga complete by writing the second (two lined) stanza with approximately 7 syllables (or sounds, onji) per line by associating on the images in the first stanza. Of course I had to try it myself, but it wasn't easy.

from a treetop
emptiness dropped down
in a cicada shell                   (Basho)

the soothing sound of spring rain
makes the silence stronger                     (Chèvrefeuille)

A nice completion I think. Can you explore how I came to this second stanza?

This Tan Renga Challenge is open for your submissions today at noon (CET) and will remain open until next Friday May 15th at noon (CET). Have fun!

Carpe Diem Tan Renga Challenge #76, Hamish Gunn's "only emptiness "

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Another week has gone and it's Friday again ... so time for a new Tan Renga Challenge (TCR) in which I challenge you to write a second stanza to complete a Tan Renga (a short chained poem written by two poets) with a given "hokku" or "first stanza" by one of our Carpe Diem Haiku Family members. This week I have chosen a haiku written by Hamish Gunn which he wrote in response on our Haiku Writing Techniques on Wabi Sabi ... here is his haiku:

in the space between the trees
only emptiness
without emptiness no forest

© Hamish Gunn

Credits: Emptiness

The above picture is in strong contrast with Hamish's haiku ... he writes about emptiness between the trees and I will try to write a second stanza towards it more on a concrete idea as the empty hall in the picture. So here is my attempt to write a second stanza towards the "hokku" by Hamish:

in the space between the trees
only emptiness
without emptiness no forest                      (HG)

cicadas' voices resonate
through the old mansion's empty hall        (Ch)

Hm ... not as strong as I had hoped, but maybe I will come with another one later this week ... for now ... have fun!
Try to write the second stanza (two lines respectively 7-7 syllables, no obligation) to make this Tan Renga complete or continue the painted scenery.

This episode of our TCR is open for your submissions today at noon (CET) and will remain open until next Friday March 13th at noon.