Here's your Daily Poem from the Poetry Chaikhana --
 | Past, present, future: unattainable By Hakuin English version by Lucien Stryk and Takashi Ikemoto
Past, present, future: unattainable,
 / Photo by Miss Acuarelas / |
| ============ Thought for the Day: You'll find ============ | Here's your Daily Music selection --  Rosalind Nature Spirit: A Journey |
Hi Omss -
Were you wondering where Wednesday's poem went? I was dealing with website technical difficulties that day: Another site hosted by my internet service provider came under a "denial of service attack" from hackers, and they managed to bring down the Poetry Chaikhana site, as well. The adventures of life on the Internet! The Poetry Chaikhana website is back up and even more secure now.
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I'm sending this poem out today with supportive thoughts to the people of Japan in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake that just hit... along with prayers for safety for all the Pacific communities that might be vulnerable to a resulting tsunami...
The Zen master Hakuin Ekaku, sometimes called Hakuin Zenji, was born Sugiyama Iwajiro in a small Japanese coastal village at the foot of Mt. Fuji.
When he was seven years old, Hakuin heard the reciting of a Buddhist sutra that described the terrors of hell. This so frightened the boy that he resolved to become a monk, in order to avoid such torments.
Though his parents opposed his decision, Hakuin took monastic vows at the age of 15.
He studied the Buddhist scriptures intensely, but was deeply shaken by reading of the painful death of a famous Chinese Chan master. The young Hakuin lost his faith in the Buddhist path for a while, hiding himself in the study of literature.
But, at the age of 22, he had his first experience of satori or enlightenment when he heard a sentence from a Buddhist scripture being recited.
After that, he dedicated himself wholeheartedly to the full realization of Nirvana, unshakable peace.
At this time, Zen Buddhism had become the court religion and, in its preeminence, lost much its inner spiritual vitality. Hakuin is credited with saving the tradition from its decline virtually single-handedly, returning Zen to its rich spiritual essence.
He organized koan training (authoring the famous koan, "What is the sound of one hand clapping?") and re-emphasized the zazen practice of sitting meditation.
Hakuin's reforms were highly effective, as seen by the profound impact Zen has in the world of spiritual practice today.
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This poem by Hakuin is saying a great deal about the sacred state in its few lines.
Hakuin states that past, present, and future are "unattainable." That is, they cannot be grasped. They are always in motion. People instinctively want to reside in a fixed place within time, but Hakuin is reminding us that that is an impossibility; one can only acknowledge the ceaseless flow of experience without clinging.
This realization leads to a still mind. Sky is often a metaphor for the awareness, that which overarches and reveals all things to perception. When the awareness is "moteless," no thoughts obstuct the mind, making it clear.
The moon is often a codeword in Buddhist poetry for the individual mind attaining enlightened awareness. And plum, cherry, and other spring blossoms can represent the delicate, natural flowering or awakening of Buddha mind in early spring after the long winter of spiritual practice. So when Hakuin speaks of how "the moonlit window smells of plum," it can be understood as Hakuin poetically telling us how this glimpse of pure insight resulting from a deeply still mind holds the delightful promise of Nirvana.
Ivan
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Ivan M. Granger's original poetry, stories and commentaries are Copyright © 2002 - 2011 by Ivan M. Granger.
All other material is copyrighted by the respective authors, translators and/or publishers.
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