The Awakened One: Buddha-Themed Haiku from Around the World

by Gabriel Rosenstock, Adjei Agyei-Baah

Pairing contemporary haiku by poets from around the world with classical Japanese haiku, The Awakened One offers us a poetic dialog on the nature of awareness across culture and time.

Modern haikuists from the UK, the US, Croatia, India, Nigeria and a dozen other countries converse via haiku with Japanese masters, like Basho, Issa and Buson, sharing moments of insight expressed in poetry of a single breath.

heavenly mystery . . .
autumn leaves
descend on a stone buddha
- Imaizumi Sogetsu-ni

sudden wind
the garden buddha’s head crowned
with cherry blossoms
- Olivier Schopfer (Switzerland)

PRAISE FOR THE AWAKENED ONE

This is the first anthology I have seen that collects contemporary haiku from every continent, every nook and cranny of our planet. Pairing Japanese masters of the past with people writing haiku right now, The Awakened One is full of little zap insights. You feel that thrill, that quick wake-up to the ordinary, when the junky human stuff drops away and our world feels moist, tender, and real. Why has haiku been equated for so long with Buddhist insight? Pull this packet, compiled by Adjei Agyei-Baah and Gabriel Rosenstock, from your hip pocket. You might find your original self peeking from these little poems.

- Andrew Schelling
editor The Wisdom Anthology of North American Buddhist Poetry

Genres: Poetry

107 pages, Paperback

Published August 20, 2021

About the author

Gabriel Rosenstock (1949–2026) was an Irish writer who worked chiefly in the Irish language. A member of Aosdána, he was a poet, playwright, haikuist, tankaist, essayist, and author/translator of over 180 books, mostly in Irish. Born in Kilfinane, County Limerick, he resided in Dublin.

Reviews

[Kanimozhi MV]

It’s a good read

Haiku poems from various part of world in one place. Worth Reading ! It’s a wonderful journey. The book is a must read for Haiku lovers.