A Zen Harvest: Japanese Folk Zen Sayings : Haiku, Dodoitsu, and Waka

by Sōiku Shigematsu

An anthology of Zen verses compiled by Soiku Shigematsu that delight, stimulate, & awaken. Written in the native Japanese verse forms of haiku, waka, & dodoitsu (a popular-song genre of the 18th century), these verses are used by Rinzai monks in their training & advanced koan studies. For the Western reader & Zen student they offer an exciting glimpse into the Zen mind & point gracefully at the moon of enlightenment.

Genres: Poetry, Buddhism, Spirituality

174 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

About the author

Sōiku Shigematsu (重松 宗育 Shigematsu Sōiku, born October 13, 1943) is a Japanese priest of Myoshin-ji branch of Rinzai School of Zen Buddhism, abbot of Shōgen-ji Temple in Shimizu-ku, Shizuoka, author and translator of books and essays on Zen that were instrumental in spreading interest in Zen literary tradition to the West in the latter half of the 20th century. Shigematsu taught English literature at Shizuoka University also visiting the United States on several occasions, most notably in 1985-6 as a Fulbright scholar. He won the Jerome J. Shestack Poetry Prize from The American Poetry Review in 1987.

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[W.B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know the whole point of a zen (which is soft and has no point) collection is that everyone is everyone else. But it still irked me that the quotes are not attributed in this miscellany. I get that these are the waves of human consciousness breaking, breaking on the shore and sometimes flying free, evaporating , liberated. But still. I. Want. To. Know. Who. Said. That. Dust, yes. Dust said it. I get it. But whose dust? (This is called failing zen.)

[Saturnq · Rating 4 out of 5]

Want to give this 5 stars but author fails to credit any poets in this collection of poetry. Beautiful collection, but you won't know which entries are, say, Basho, unless you already know Basho and can recognize his writing.

[Hawraki · Rating 4 out of 5]

مجموعة قصائد مستلهمة من الزن (أو الصوفية البوذية) كما يقرّبها بالمعنى المترجم، وهي قصائد عذبة، تأملية، خفيفة. تجعل العالم أخفّ وطأة، وأعمق معنى.

استمتعت جدًا بمقدمة المترجم، ومقاربته لبعض المقاطع الشعرية ببعض الأبيات العربية الشهيرة، كما استوقفتني القصائد باختلاف أنماطها.

[Sokhieng Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Nothing is especially interesting in this world; it's our mind that makes it a really interesting place.'

[Simona · Rating 4 out of 5]

Verta laiks nuo laiko paskaityti.