Carpe Diem #1199 prayer flags, messengers for the gods

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at the first episode of our new month here at Carpe Diem Haiku Kai. this month we are going to discover the beauty of Tibet, a wonderful spiritual country high up in the Himalayans. This new month I have titled "Tibet ... a magical experience" and I hope to let that happen through CDHK. Tibet that wonderful country without its own president, king or queen, but with the Dalai Lama living in exile, because of the annexation of Tibet by China back in the fifties.

In one of my not yet finished novels part of the story takes place in Shambala, the magical city that's believed to lay somewhere in the Himalayans and than especially in Tibet or Nepal. Later this month we will Shambala have for a prompt, but today ... a reprise prompt "prayer flags".

Prayer Flags

In the Himalayans you can find a lot of sacred places were passersby have left a silk, linen or cotton prayer flag. All those prayer flags have a range of colors, and those colors have their own sacred meaning. They are used to send the prayers on the shoulder of the wind into the world. After a while the prayer flags will perish and than its time for new prayer flags. The colors of the flags have the following meaning:

blue for heaven/sky
white for the wind
red for fire
green for water
yellow for earth

The flags are printed with mantras, prayers for peace, good will and wisdom. The idea behind these flags is that with every move they make (through the wind) a little bit of the strength, the power of the prayer, is becoming free. If the wind moves them, than the air is cleansed and the intention of the prayer is spread into the world. Isn't that an awesome idea?

I like this tradition ... what a joy this must give to share your prayers by exposing flags in all colors of the rainbow. Those Tibetans are just great and so spiritual ...

Sharing your prayers with the world by using flags is really great. It's very similar with our 'tradition' to remember all and everything in our prayers ... let us keep on going with that and maybe we can share our prayers too by prayer flags.

mysterious shadows
against the rough mountains -
Om Mani Padme Hum

© Chèvrefeuille

Isn't it awesome? Just feel the wind on your skin, listen to what the wind is telling, whispering into your ear, be aware of those secret messengers the gods can and will tell you through the wind.

in the old church

the scent of incense

I hear the prayers

© Chèvrefeuille

To conclude this first episode of our virtual trip to Tibet I have another wonderful image for you.

Prayer Flags somewhere in the Himalayans

against the blue sky
high above the Himalayans
a whispered prayer
a cry on the shoulder of the wind
"give us back our country!"

© Chèvrefeuille

(My excuses for the political tone in this Tanka. I give just words to my feelings and pray for a free Tibet.)

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until June 5th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our "weekend-meditation" later on. For now ... have fun!

Carpe Diem Tan Renga Challenge Month 2017 #19 in the light of dawn (Chèvrefeuille, your host)

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at the last episode of this Carpe Diem Tan Renga Challenge Month 2017. This month we have created wonderful Tan Renga inspired on wonderful "hokku" by classical and non-classical haiku poets. To conclude this month I have a nice haiku (how immodest) written by myself. This haiku I wrote in February 2016 as part of our first Theme Week. In this haiku I used the haiku writing technique "baransu" or "balance through association", a haiku writing technique which I created myself for our first series of CDHK Haiku Writing Techniques. More about this "baransu" technique you can find HERE.

Here is the "hokku" to work with for this last episode of this Tan Renga Challenge Month:

in the light of dawn
sunflowers reach to the blue sky
praising their Creator

© Chèvrefeuille

sunflowers (image found on Pinterest)

A wonderful challenge I think. Of course I cannot create a new 2nd stanza towards this one, because Tan renga is written by two poets and not by one. On the other hand ... I can create a Tanka with it, maybe that's what I am going to do.

in the light of dawn

sunflowers reach to the blue sky

praising their Creator

while a choir of birds falls in
she my love has to go home

© Chèvrefeuille

Not bad, not bad at all ... I even think this one is based on my experience, because when my wife and I met more then 25 years ago, she stayed several nights at my home, but had to leave at the break of dawn.

Well ... this was it ... our second Tan Renga Challenge Month at CDHK. I enjoyed creating it for you and I hope you all did like it.

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until June 4th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our first episode of our next month, prayer flags, later on. For now ... have fun!

Carpe Diem Tan Renga Challenge Month 2017 #18 a wandering crow (Matsuo Basho)

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Today I have another nice challenge for you in this wonderful Tan Renga Challenge Month 2017. Today I love to challenge you with a beautiful "hokku" by Basho. This "hokku" was the first verse of a real renga which Basho attended. Basho was very well known in his time as a Renga master and he was invited at a lot of renga parties. The one that started with this "hokku" was attended at the home of one of Basho's elegant friends, Sakuei. Before I give you this "hokku" I will give you the so called "pre-script" to this "hokku", in Basho's time it was common to give haiku a title or a pre-script.

Pre-script:

This was composed when seeing a screen of plum blossoms and a crow at the house of Sakuei. A renga party was held with this as the starting poem.

a wandering crow
its old nest has become
a plum tree

© Basho (Tr. Jane Reichhold)

This pre-script was not by Basho himself, it was added by Doho in his book Sho O Zen-den. In this poem Basho compares himself to the crow painted on the screen. Instead of lodging in the simplicity of a crow's nest, he sleeps among plum blossoms because he is staying with an elegant friend. Crows are not usually considered a migrating bird, but the idea of a wandering crow means a bird of passage or a priest on a journey. (Source: "Basho's Complete Haiku" by Jane Reichhold)

Crow and Plum Blossom (Woodblock Print) (image found on Pinterest)

Well ... as you can see in the "logo" of this episode of our Tan Renga Challenge, this time I love to challenge to create a "Soliloquy No Renga" (a "solo-renga"). What does that mean? Well .... it's a kind of renga I invented and the goal is to create a renga with at least six stanza following the sequence: "hokku", (in this case, the haiku by Basho); two lined stanza, three lined stanza, two lined stanza, three lined stanza, two lined stanza, and so on. The last stanza the "ageku" (closing verse) makes the "chain" complete. (So at least 6 stanza ... but if you like you may do more stanza).

!! More on Soliloquy No Renga, you can find HERE)

This episode is open for your submissions tonight at 7.00 PM (CET) and will remain open until June 3rd at noon (CET). Have fun!

Carpe Diem Tan Renga Challenge Month 2017 #17 wind in the pines (Candy)

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

This beautiful Tan Renga Challenge Month 2017 is almost over. We have only a few days left and than we will take the plane to Tibet, to explore this wonderful country in the Himalayans. But that's for later.

Today I have a new challenge for you a "hokku" by one of our Haiku Family members and one of the winners of our kukai. Today's Tan Renga Challenge starts with a "hokku" by Candy.

wind in the pines
swirls upward to heaven
whispered prayers

© Candy

Pines

A beauty I would say and I think I can remember that Candy wrote this one in response on a beautiful haiku by Jane Reichhold:

reaching for the sun
the great pine's shadow
shapes the tree

© Jane Reichhold

Well ... maybe I am mistaken on this but I don't know it for sure.

Here is my attempt to complete this Tan Renga:

wind in the pines

swirls upward to heaven

whispered prayers                                           © Candy

birds are singing their song
praising Mother Nature                                   © Chèvrefeuille

Not as strong as I had hoped, but in a way I like the twist in my stanza, because "the wind" has been the messenger of the spirits and gods ...

This episode is open for your submissions tonight at 7:00 PM (CET) and will remain open until June 2nd at noon (CET). Have fun!

PS. I have published our new prompt-list for June 2017. We are going to explore Tibet. You can find the prompt-list in the menu above.

Carpe Diem Namasté, The Spiritual Way #10 Ascension

!!! The submission for this "weekend-meditation" starts next Sunday May 28th at 7:00 PM (CET) !!!

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at a new episode of our CDHK "Namasté, The Spiritual Way". This week I love to challenge you to create haiku, tanka or an other Japanese poetery form, inspired on "Ascension". As I publish this episode "Ascension Day" (or in Dutch, Hemelvaartsdag) is almost over. You all will know that Ascension Day is a Christian holiday in which the Ascension of Jesus Christ is celebrated. But here at CDHK I do not pretend to promote the Christian belief or which other religion there is. So I have tried to make this "weekend-meditation" more common than Ascension Day will be.

I have chosen to tell you more about Ascension. Maybe you remember or Theme Week about "The Ascended Masters" in that theme -week I also told you about Ascension. Today however I love to watch to the more spiritual meaning of Ascension. (Source: Ascension Symptoms)

Ascension

Many people are confused about what Ascension means when it is referred to in the spiritual sense. Ascension can mean different things to many people. The literal definition of the word ascension means: the act of ascending or ascent; to be risen up or to climb. The concept or idea of Ascension itself can be explained in several different contexts depending on the spiritual tradition or philosophy.

Ascension, in a simple and spiritual sense is very similar to the Eastern concept of Enlightenment found in Buddhism. To become Enlightened can simply mean to have "full comprehension of a situation". Enlightenment is a spiritual revelation or deep insight into the meaning and purpose of all things, communication with or understanding of the mind of God or Source, profound spiritual understanding or a fundamentally changed consciousness whereby everything is perceived as an interconnected unity.

Ascension in its basic spiritual or mystical sense can be thought of as the highest state of Man (humanity). It is the expansion of awareness. It involves the realization of being ONE with the Creator and all of creation. An individual is 'ascending' in the sense that something of a lower vibration is ascending; is is being 'raised up' or becoming higher in vibration. This is why many Spiritual traditions aim to achieve the dissolution of the human ego (lower self) in order to realize the true nature of their being, or Higher Self.

Ascension, in this spiritual sense of the word, does not mean that one's physical body is lifted off the ground and flies through the air, ascending up into or above the clouds towards a physical place called 'heaven', although some religious adherents still literally imagine this very scenario. But for the sake of understanding, If Ascension did actually involve entering heaven without dying, then it would be more accurate to say that Ascension is about 'bringing heaven to earth' by raising the 'lower vibrational aspect of your non-physical being to a higher vibrational state of being or realization.

Ascension can also be understood in a more metaphysical way by considering the concept of 'Dimensions' or 'planes of existence, or planes of conscious'. This would mean that Ascension is about shifting from one dimension, frequency, plane of existence or conscious (such as the 'lower' physical Earth plane) to another plane, dimension or state of consciousness that is of a 'higher frequency'.

The Ascension of Jesus Christ

Maybe you know about several Ascensions. There is of course the "Ascension of the Christ", but there are other ideas about Ascension. For example there is the Ascension of Buddha.

Ascension of Buddha

But there is also the Ascension of the Prophet, Muhammad.

The Ascension of Muhammad Miraj-Isra

In my opinion Ascension isn't something physical, but it is spiritual. In this time of Aquarius, we all will ascend to a higher state of spirituality. We will go into another dimension, another state of thinking.
Ascension is becoming more spiritual, maybe it is the moment that you choose to take another path to fulfillment, or spiritual growth. I think that we, haiku poets, are creating our own "ascension" through our haiku, tanka or other Japanese poetry form, because we are one with nature, with the cosmos.

What does Hinduism tells us about Ascension?

According to Hindu philosophy, by living a life of Truth governed by various forms of yoga, anyone can ascend to the ultimate state of moksa - release from the round and round cycle of birth and death. This is achieved by understanding the Inner Self (God), by overcoming ignorance and desire requires one to live constantly (every act, thought and breath) in the awareness of God. Paradoxically, moksa cannot be attained if it is one's goal. Ascension to moksa can only occur when one life of Truth transcends all desires (including the desire for moksa). The dynamics and liveliness of the Hindu belief system allows for use of ancient texts as well as continuous contemporary instruction on exactly how to live in Truth.

Atman, Ascension in Hinduism (image found on Pinterest)

As I re-read this (maybe to long) episode of Namasté, The Spiritual Way, than I think I am more a guy that fits in the idea of Ascension as taught by Hinduism, because I think that through living a good life full of truth I will ascend to a higher consciousness, another spiritual dimension.

For this "weekend-meditation" I have sought the Internet for haiku on Ascension. Here are a few examples that I encountered:

Morning fog lifts
the grayness of the still creek,
joy in ascension

© macandrew

ascension colors

ever changing from downfall 

grows stronger with time

© Marty King

the glorious light

touches my poetic soul

am I a witness

© Joyce Johnson

As I was searching the Internet I ran into "The Haiku Stairs", a steep hike on the island O'ahu Hawaii. This "Haiku Stairs", has nothing to do with our haiku, it has to do with a flower that grows on this island, but I was surprised as I read the other name "The Stairway to Heaven"; and that fits our theme for this "weekend-meditation" in a great way. So I just had to include it here.

"The Haiku Stairs" or  "The Stairway to Heaven"

To conclude this "weekend-meditation" on Ascension I have a few haiku that I wrote themed Ascension, these are all from my archives.

keeper of the flame
protects the world and its inhabitants
until they rise up

universal experience
walking on the path of wisdom
finding the truth

ascension
conquering the seven paths
into Christ Consciousness

dervishes whirling
seeking a higher consciousness -
third eye opens

© Chèvrefeuille

It has become a (to long)  episode, but I loved creating it for you all. And of course this is our "weekend-meditation", so you have all weekend to meditate and contemplate about Ascension.

This "weekend-meditation" is open for your submissions next Sunday May 28th at 7:00 PM (CET) and will remain open until June 2nd at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new episode around that time too. For now ... enjoy your weekend.

Carpe Diem Tan Renga Challenge Month 2017 #16 a drop of dew (Bosha)

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

What a joy to create another beautiful Tan Renga Challenge for you all. Yesterday we had a beautiful "afriku" by Adjei Agyei Baah as our "hokku" and today I have a beauty by a not so well known haiku poet, a contemporary of Shiki and a devotee to Basho, as we already can see in his haigo, Bosha.

Let me tell you first something about this not so well known haiku poet. Kawabata Bosha (1897-1941) was born on August 17 in Downtown Tokyo.His family name is Kawabata Nobukazu. His father had a great influence on his haiku career. His grandfather and his mother worked in a hospital and as a child it was his wish to become a doctor himself.
His stepbrother was Kawabata Ryush (Ryuushi), who later became a famous painter of traditional Japanese Paintings (Nihonga). Bosha himself was also a great painter.

At age 17 he started to use the haigo Bosha. He later became a most beloved student of Takahama Kyoshi and worked with the Aogiri Group. But his lung tuberculosis became worse and he died at a young age in 1941. On the evening of July 16 he died, this was his Jisei (death-poem).

ishi makura shite ware semi ka naki shigure

a stone for a pillow
me, just another cicada ...
so shrill, like crying

© Kawabata Bosha

Kawabata Bosha (1897-1941)

A beautiful Jisei (death-poem) I would say. As read this Jisei I immediately thought about a haiku written by my sensei Matsuo Basho. In a way the haiku by Bosha was I think inspired on a haiku by Basho.

That haiku was the following:

the deep stillness
seeping into the rocks
the voice of the cicadas

© Matsuo Basho

Did you know that the life-circle of a cicada is 17 years? Could it be that our 17 syllables counting haiku was inspired on the life circle of the cicada? As that is true than haiku is for sure the poetry of nature.

Well ... enough talking. Let me give you the "hokku" by Bosha to work with.

a drop of dew 
sits on a rock 
like a diamond

© Kawabata Bosha

a drop of dew

I hope I have inspired you to create the second stanza towards this "hokku" by Bosha. I am looking forward to your responses.

This episode is open for your submissions tonight at 7:00 PM (CET) and will remain open until May 29th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new "weekend-meditation" a new episode of Namasté, later on. For now ... have fun!

Carpe Diem Tan Renga Challenge Month 2017 #15 ancient road (Adjei Agyei Baah)

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at a new episode in our Carpe Diem TRC month 2017. Yesterday we had a classical haiku poet, Kikaku, and today we have a modern haiku poet to inspire us. Today I have chosen for a "hokku" written by Adjei Agyei Baah, a very talented haiku poet from Ghana. Adjei invented the "Afriku", the haiku from Africa and is the initiator of several haiku events in Ghana and other parts of Africa. Last year his first haiku compilation "Afriku, haiku and senryu from Ghana" was published by Red Moon Press. "Afriku" is a wonderful compilation of beautiful haiku and senryu and for sure worth to read and re-read.

Today's haiku is not from this "Afriku" compilation, but one of his haiku responses on a prompt by CDHK.

ancient road…
the trails of the masters
absorbed in fallen leaves

© Adjei Agyei-Baah

Ancient Road ...

The task is to create a Tan Renga through association on the scenes in the "hokku" and add two lines of approximately 7-7 syllables towards it.

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until May 28th at noon (CET). Have fun!