Zen and the Art of Haiku

Haiku is an ancient form of poetry that has intrigued and captured the interest of many poets worldwide. Simple, yet elegant, the haiku can invoke a plethora of feelings in a few simple phrases. Tracking the haiku back to its roots, haiku has been used in the art of Zen to capture its essence. As the essence of Zen is difficult to translate into words, the haiku can be used like a bridge to connect the feeling and experience of Zen in a visible and tangible sense. Zen and the art of the haiku are very much connected, and help connect the Zen experience to us who have not experienced it in a visible and artistic way.

Before explaining how Zen and the art of haiku are connected, let's look first at what a haiku is. The form of haiku we know today consists of three lines with a syllable pattern of five syllables in the first and third lines and a seven in the second line. This pattern can vary, but the 5-7-5 is the basic and most traditional pattern used. Originally one haiku included 17 'sounds' as Japanese character pronunciations consist of a consonant and a vowel (with the exception of ん which is the equivalent of the suffix -n, but can be counted as a sound in itself). It was only when the haiku traveled outside Japan and even more specifically, the Western world was it changed to a syllable pattern rather than a sound pattern.

The traditional haiku was written as an immediate thought, and tried to capture what the poet was feeling or experiencing at the time of writing the haiku. This has been called a 'haiku moment', a term likely penned by haiku master, Matsuo Basho. Much like a 'Zen moment', the haiku moment expresses a sudden revelation or feeling in the poet's surroundings that inspires them to write the haiku. It is the duty of the reader as an observer to try and interpret the feeling of the poet from their haiku.

Kigo is another very important element to haiku. Ki (季) meaning season and go (語) meaning language, kigo refers to the symbolic and quintessential nature words used in haiku. Most, if not all, traditional haiku used nature words to convey the feeling of the poet. Like Zen, a feeling can be inferred through very simple and natural language.

Asagao ya! (Oh, morning glory)
Tsurube torarete (A bucket taken captive)
Morai mizu. (I begged for water)

This is a poem by the poetess Chiyo, describing a morning glory that had wrapped a tendril around the drawing ladle of her well. A way one could interpret this is by taking into account Chiyo's dilemma of needing water, but being astounded by the morning glory's beauty and not wanting to disturb it.

Surprisingly, haiku didn't start out like we see it today. Modern haiku didn't get its name until about the 19th century. Although the origin of the hokku, which haiku came from is debated, it started out as a part of a type of Japanese poetry called renga . One type of renga is called tanrenga. Tanrenga also has a sound pattern, 5-7-5 7-7, and is written basically by two people. A tanrenga poem starts out with a 'maeku' (まえく), a 5-7-5 verse that looks like a haiku. Another person responds to the maeku with a tsukeku (つけく), a 7-7 verse. A longer version of renga is called chorenga , which can run from one hundred to even one thousand lines. The first verse of a chorenga is a choku (ちょく, 5-7-5 pattern) called hokku (発句, "the opening verse"), the second is a tanku (たんく, 7-7 pattern) called waki (わき).

In the 1400s, renga in the middle classes lead to the development of a type of verse called haikai no renga. This was known as a comically or playfully linked verse. The haikai no renga was used as a witty wordplay verse. The haiku was formed when the first verse of the haikai no renga broke off into an independent form of poetry. A very notable, perhaps even most famous haikai no renga poet was Matsuo Basho . Basho lived and wrote in the Edo period, and was a wandering poet that spent his life traveling from one end of Japan to the other, writing poetry. Basho can be said to have elevated the hokku (the first three lines of the haikai) to popularity and making it a stand-alone form of poetry. Basho was known for his nobility, humility and strong character that allowed him to raise this type of poetry from cleverness and wordplay to a near spiritual experience.

Basho was a follower of Zen, and you can see it through his poetry. He found greater meaning in the smaller moments, which can also be found in Zen. Here is a widely known poem by Basho known as 'The Old Pond'.

Furu ike ya! (Ah, the old pond!)
Kawazu tobikomu, (A frog jumps in,)
Mizu no oto. (The water's sound.)

This poem is simple and in my opinion, very Zen. Many of Basho's poems are like this, simple yet powerful. He seems to capture the serenity of the pond and you can almost hear the sound of the water as if a frog had jumped into it.

Zen and the art of haiku can be easily connected. Haiku can be used as a bridge to connect Zen to those who have not yet experienced it in a tangible and artistic way. Some similarities of Zen and haiku are that they both evolve from loneliness and meditation. They both focus on simplicity and poverty. Zen and haiku are also based in everyday moments and observe the transient nature of all existence. Although haiku and Zen have some differences as well, an obvious one being that the spirit if haiku is conveyed through words and written language while Zen cannot. Haiku is more of a particular artistic awakening while Zen is an encompassing and spiritual awakening. To quote Dr. Blyth, 'A haiku is the expression of a temporary enlightenment in which we see into the life of things.' I believe that Zen can be expressed through haiku and can help connect the Zen experience to us who have not experienced it in a visible and artistic way.