Carpe Diem #1535 Zarathustra (or Zoroaster) "the first footstep" (Use That Quote)

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at a the last episode of our festive 6th anniversary. As I already said in the post earlier today I will conclude this festive "alphabet" month with the letter Z. I have chosen a wonderful quote by Zarathustra (or Zoroaster), an ancient Persian Philosopher.

Here is the quote for your inspiration:

[...] "Taking the first footstep with a good thought, the second with a good word, and the third with a good deed, I entered paradise." [...] (Quote by Zarathustra)

Zarathustra

Your task: Create a haiku or tanka (or other form of Japanese poetry) inspired on the quote by Zarathustra.

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until November 7th at noon (CET). I will publish our first episode of November, autumn, tomorrow, 

Carpe Diem #1521 Lao Tzu ... flexibility of water

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Time slips through our fingers like grains of sand or in other words ... our festive 6th anniverasry is almost halfway and we have already had nice challenging prompts / themes to work with. And this month will be a little bit more beautiful I would say, because tomorrow, at 10:00 PM (CEST), our seasonly retreat starts. 30 Days of writing haiku or tanka inspired on a theme. This year's autumn retreat that theme is "Love Eternally", but that's not our point for this episode.

This month we have all prompts / themes following the alphabet and today we have arrived  at the letter L and today I love to cahllenge you to create a haiku, tanka or other Japanese poetry form inspired on a quote by Lao Tzu, a Chinese philosopher. So today it's a "Use That Quote" episode. Here is the quote to use:

[...] "Nothing is softer or more flexible than water, yet nothing can resist it."[...] (Lao Tzu)

Brook in the woods

A wonderful quote to work with I think, not an easy one maybe, but I think you all can create wonderful poems with it. Of course I had to do an attempt myself:

timeless beauty -
the glint of polished pebbles
in the crystal brook

© Chèvrefeuille

Hm ... not bad (how immodest), but it's not a new one (july 2013) I took it from my archive(s). So it's not completely fair, so here is a real new one:

reflection
wrinkles in my face make me old
the brook still young

© Chèvrefeuille (2018)

This episode is open for your submissions tonight at 7:00 PM (CEST) and will remain open until October 21st at noon (CEST). I will try to publish our new episode later on. For now ... have fun!

Carpe Diem #1380 present life

 

 

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at a new episode of Carpe Diem Haiku Kai. this month we are exploring the Quran as a book of wisdom and as a source for inspiration. Today I have a nice quote from the Quran for your inspiration.

[...] "And cite for them the parable of the present life: it is like water that We send down from the sky; the plants of the earth absorb it; but then it becomes debris, scattered by the wind. God has absolute power over everything.  Wealth and children are the adornments of the present life. But the things that last, the virtuous deeds, are better with your Lord for reward, and better for hope." [...] (Surah 18: Ayah 45 & 46)

autumn leaves in early sunlight

What does this mean? What kind of similarities we can see with other spiritual literature?

Let us take a look at the first Ayah in this quote: It sounds like what Jesus said "I am the water of life" and I think that's what this part of the quote means. God sends us rain to water our crops, without rain it will not grow. And of course we know that the crops will absorb it, but during the seasons it will grow, it will give fruits and finally it will die. In this Ayah we can see the whole circle of life in a few words.

In the second Ayah we can read about how we have to look at life ... like we were children. Isn't that also what is said "Let the children come to me, because Paradise is for those who are like children". Wealth is nice, but it cannot be the ultimate goal. The ultimate goal is what we have done in our life, did we reach the goals imprinted in our soul by the Creator. In this we can also see the idea of reincarnation as is part of Buddhism and Hinduism.

Isn't it a wonder to look at the Quran and try to understand the words, but also the depth in the words? The Quran is a wonderful book full of ancient knowledge ... knowledge we see in other religions and philosophies too, maybe not in the same words, but for sure in the same idea, the same spirit.

departure
following the winding road
circle of life

© Chèvrefeuille

This episode is open for your submissions tonight at 7:00 PM (CET) and will remain open until March 8th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new episode later on. For now ... have fun!