Haiku Mind: 108 Poems to Cultivate Awareness and Open Your Heart

by Patricia Donegan

Haiku, the Japanese form of poetry written in three short lines, is celebrated for its ability to express a simple moment in a profound way. The “haiku moment,” as it is called, refers to a heightened awareness of the world around us and how, in that small, transient period, the greater essence of our lives is reflected.

As our culture speeds up and our personal lives feel overbooked and busy, haiku can offer an easy way to slow down, appreciate the simple things around us, and give us a moment to reflect on our lives. In Haiku Mind , Patricia Donegan presents 108 haiku that offer a larger lesson on how we can approach our lives. With themes such as honesty, transience, and compassion, Donegan offers haiku and commentary as a form of meditation—a moment where we can slowly and naturally discover what is simply here.

Genres: Poetry, Spirituality, Nonfiction, Japan, Buddhism, Writing, Philosophy

231 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Mark Robison · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've got to give this five stars despite two pretty big flaws. First, it contains a weak translation of the most famous haiku ever. Second, the first quarter of the book is a lot stronger than the rest. Still, I'll return to "Haiku Mind" often.

Donegan displays a haiku and then writes a one-page meditation on it. (This makes for a good bedtime read.) I loved many of her observations, like: "kindness has two faces: remembering kindness to others and remembering others' kindness to us." And although it includes a fair number of famous writers, it includes many great ones who have never been translated into English. It also strongly represents women writers, who often get neglected in haiku books.

An excerpt:

I kill an ant —
and realize my three children
were watching.
Shuson Kato

... "Be honest to yourself and write what is there." These words are from the Japanese woman haiku master Teijo Nakamura, given in a rare interview when I had asked her what was the greatest principle of haiku. At first I thought the interpreter had made a mistake, for her reply seemed much too simple; later when I tried to practice it, I realized how hard yet truly profound it was. This haiku reflects the courage it takes to be that honest with oneself in order to become a true human being who lives mindfully moment to moment. ... Starting this very moment with whatever is happening and seeing it clearly with a gentle heart, no matter how embarrassing, how painful, how sad, no matter what: that is the human journey.

Oh, and that terrible translation of the most famous haiku:

ancient pond —
frog jumps in
sound of the water
Basho Matsuo

What is the useless word "the" doing in that haiku?

[Larry Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

The more you read these essential haiku and Patricia Donegan's wise reflections, the closer you come to awakening your world and self. This book ages like good wine.

[Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance · Rating 4 out of 5]

not a review
just a few
haiku
DEBNANCE

violets here and there
in the ruins
of my burnt house
SHOKYU-NI

this world of dew
is yes, a world of dew
and yet...
ISSA

this spring in my hut
there is nothing
there is everything
SODO YAMAGUCHI

after the rain
bomb craters filled
with stars
JOHN BRANDI

[T.J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some nice poems here, each followed with a short passage for reflection. I do agree with the reviewer who stated the first 1/4 of the book seemed the best. After awhile some of the passages didn't seem to have much to do with the poems. Still, something nice to read in the early morning to start your day.

[Pamela · Rating 5 out of 5]

108 Haiku written by both legendary haiku writers (Basho, Issa, et al.) to modern writers (Elizabeth Searle Lamb, Jack Kerouac, et al.) followed by Donegan's commentary. This is a wonderful book for anyone interested in reading and writing haiku. I have the Kindle edition; I initially read it through from beginning to end, and now find myself returning to it anytime I feel like reading a brief, meditative piece. Donegan's brief commentaries following each haiku are interesting and informative. I discovered many new haiku writers who I'd not previously heard of, plus several journals of interest to me.

[Donna Jo Atwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Each haiku is given two pages which contains the poem itself, a short meditation, and a few words about the poet.
Although the editor chose the themes for these haidu inspired by Buddhist tradition, they can be enjoyed by readers of any religion. They encourage the reader to slow down and reflect upon life, to take time to see what is, to come away from being self-absorbed.
This is a lovely little book, worthy of rereading.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have completed this wonderful little book and now am re-reading the poems. The book has instilled a desire to try my hand a haiku. My belief is that it should be a relaxing experience forming small poems from few words. This book feeds the mind with images brought forth with the carefully chosen discriptions in the poetry. A gentle feast indeed.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet book - a holiday present that a poked through while home in New Jersey for a week. The criticisms were insightful and the selection of haiku was very varied and included American haiku, which was a nice treat.

I think it's a shame that the book is marketed the way it is because it's a smart collection and Patricia Donegan is an excellent scholar.

[Elly Sands · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightful book and a real joy to read. I began seeing my immediate surroundings via creating a haiku. What a relaxing and centering way to view the world. It makes the mundane sparkle.

[Jampa · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is finished in beauty

[Frank · Rating 1 out of 5]

Her meditations on the haiku were often trying too hard to put a square peg into a round hole.

[Peggy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This beautiful book provides 108 haiku, both traditional and modern. I was delighted to find the beats well represented, but finding Jorge Luis Borges too was an unexpected pleasure. Donegan identified universal themes for each haiku, including Sky Mind, Adversity, Epiphany, Healing, and Beyond Terrorism. Each haiku is accompanied by an essay in which Donegan discusses the haiku in terms of the theme. Her discussions are rich with knowledge of history, geography, the world of work, women's roles, politics, war, and Buddhism. She often identifies the place in the poem in which enlightenment is revealed. Then a brief biography of each poet is included.

I read the book, which I checked out from the public library, on Kindle. Though I was happy to find it available to me, in the end I think that this is not the ideal form for a book like this. I had to page through the book to find the Diane di Prima haiku, something more quickly and easily done in paper form. Plus I wanted to underline and write notes in the margins--highlighting and annotating aren't quite the same experience. On the other hand, if I feel this way, why not simply purchase a paper copy?

[Leanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a wonderful book. I loved her introduction and the idea of haiku mind. I had never really thought of it before. This idea of writing a haiku as a cultivation of character practice. To really focus on the now. The moment, the vividness and beauty that’s in the details of every day life, This is something that is the basis of tea ceremony and I really appreciated reading how this attention and mindfulness can be found in the practice of haiku as well.

I totally disagree with the reviewer who disliked the translation of the most famous hike whoever. I think it was extremely well done and I don’t know why he thinks the use of the word doesn’t belong in haiku.

The more I loved her translation of the famous hike to buy Issa. I think it’s the best one I’ve ever seen.

A beautiful book that I will re-read it again and again!

[Judith Valente · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful anthology of three-line poems from the 17th century Japanese haiku master Basho to 20th century poets like Allen Ginsburg who use this poetic form as a spiritual practice. Each haiku is accompanied by a short reflection by Donegan on such themes as Transformation, Mystery and Compassion.

[Deborah · Rating 4 out of 5]

In discovering a depth to Haiku I missed earlier, I am finding many awesome books which explain haiku, like a great painting. This book offers her insights, although thru her training in Shambala, which has it's own limitations. As do all views :-) But she's a great kindergarten guide through haiku, for this beginner.

[Deborah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book of haiku and the author's contemplations of the poems engaging and thought provoking. It's a book to be savored and one I would read again. I learned things from it about Buddhism and living in the moment, cultivating a haiku mind.

[Kristine Thurston · Rating 5 out of 5]

To Read Again and Again

This is a collection to read and re-read, to savor and enjoy. Each of these 108 haiku comes with a the author’s thoughts about it and a little context about the poem and the author. I recommend wholeheartedly to anyone who loves poetry and haiku.

[Gwendolyn Plano · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely collection of Haiku, accompanied by a reflection. It's a book I savored over the month. Picking it up in the evening, I'd read one or two -- much like a dessert at the end of a dinner with friends.

[Brian Wilcox · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed being introduced to a lot of haiku poets I was not aware of, especially the women poets. The author had some good commentary, just seemed too often it was an embellishment of the poem. Sometimes, an apple is an apple and a nose is a nose, that's it.

[annika burman · Rating 1 out of 5]

I enjoyed the poems themselves, however, I got nothing out of Donegan's writing. The second half all started to blur together, and it's altogether not memorable.

[Sophia Keen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This delightful book introduced me to reading poetry for pleasure.

[Tobey Brock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. I use to write these type of poems when I was younger. So, I thought I would take a look now. This book is worth the read.

[Cara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm really impressed by the variety of topics she curated from so many different haiku poets. Bite size reading, that gave enough space to reflect on each one. A soothing collection.

[Roben]

A tremendous curation. I used Haiku Mind as a daily devotion and will repeat. It provides the loveliest of images to retrain a monkey mind. Thank you Patricia Donegan.

[Tanya]

I wasn’t expecting so many words in a haiku book!

Many lovely poems here.

[Jannik · Rating 5 out of 5]

just re-read & gifted flynn his own copy (i’m trying to get him hooked on haikus just as i have been)

[Julie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am doing a reading challenge and one of the tasks was to read a book of poetry. I found this one on goodreads and thought that haikus would be a good idea for me because I like conciseness. And what is more concise that a haiku. Upon reading them though, I found out they were not concise but ridiculous! Haikus are supposed to be 3 lines, 5 syllables, 7 syllables, 5 syllables. There was maybe one haiku in this book that followed that rule. Also, some of them weren't even 3 lines. Most of them had 2 thoughts that flow together and then some random phrase out of nowhere.

Then there was the fun commentary after each one. I despise being told what to think and this commentary did exactly that. It was even more ridiculous than the haiku itself. Reading way too much into things. Sometimes when someone says a flower, it really means a flower, not some sort of symbolism for everything in the world. This commentary also did not allow the reader to reflect on the haiku themselves.

In short, I had to struggle through every word of this book and only finished it so I could mark it off for my 2015 challenge.

[Maurice Halton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I never finish reading this type of book; its for dipping into from time to time. It helps the mind to return to the true reality.

Haiku is a traditional Japanese form of verse. A Haiku usually has three lines; the first line has five syllables, the second has seven and the third five. A well known example, penned by the seventeenth-century poet Basho Matsuo runs

古い静かな池
カエルはジャンプする
水の音

Old quiet pond
The frog jumps
Sound of water
(there are many translations, however)

Haiku are not meant to be “clever”; they are simple and concise reflections of the illusionary world.

[T · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started this book in June and read one of the 108 entires nearly every day until the start of November. I found it a grounding way to start my day. I am going to miss this book with its quiet wisdom.

A mixture of early Japanese haiku from the 1600's to modern day Americans and one Canadian each page starts with a topic such as greed, simplicity or communication. Then you have the simple beautiful haiku followed by Patrica Donegan's commentary. Each entry ends with a brief description of the author with their dates of birth and death, if they have died.

Patricia's commentary is suscient, ensisuccinct, insightful and stretching...


lily;
out of the water....
out of itself
Nicholas Virgilio

[SmarterLilac · Rating 4 out of 5]

A deep and varied look at the haiku form. Many different themes and perspectives populate this book. War, joy, children, old age--even abortion--make appearances. I read this in one sitting (backwards for some reason) while my internet was out. That's probably not an accident. Everything in this collection encourages us to embrace contemplation, which may require special focus in the digital age. Not sure I would have gotten as much out of it had I broken it up into different sessions.

These tiny poems give us a wide angled lens with which to experience this art. And I will definitely look into reading more from the poets featured here. Haiku is more than just Basho.