Pure Land Haiku: The Art of Priest Issa

by David G. Lanoue

No mere "child's poet," Kobayashi Issa (1763-1828) is an aware and committed artist who celebrates, in a lifetime of haiku, the "Other Power" of Amida a power that transforms the individual and universe or, more exactly, the individual/universe in their inseparableness. This is the first book-length English-language treatment of this remarkable Japanese poet in relation to his joyful, "priestly" mission. Revised Second Edition. Japanese texts are included.

Genres: Poetry, Buddhism, Japan

Paperback

First published May 16, 2013

Reviews

[Jessica]

"...a power which transforms the individual and the universe or, more exactly, the individual/universe in their inseparableness. When one abandons the fiction of duality, a fiction which proposes the identification with an ego-self as a separate entity from the rest of the universe; one enters the Pure Land instantaneously, escaping the hopelessness and corruption of the world....From that point on, he or she no longer views things with a rapacious urge to control them. Instead, the universe and all consciousness (no difference between the two) are embraced in the same spirit of surrender and trust made possible by Amida Buddha. Issa's haiku can be viewed...as the records of myriad trusting and accepting encounters of self with universe in which the two disclose their essential unity."

[Rick Jackofsky]

A look at the poetry of Kobayashi Issa and, the lately forgotten, link between Japanese haiku and Buddhism.

[William]

As a Jodo Shinshu Buddhist I found this book to be helpful in my studies on Buddhism. Mr Lanoue does an excellent job on taking Issa's vast collection of Haiku and pulling out the gems for discussion. The author further catagorizes them into sections that any Buddhist or person interested in Buddhism would find helpful.
As a Haikuist I love this book for the collection itself and reread the Haiku in it for enjoyment. I highly recommend this book.