The only substantial
collection in English
of Basho's renku, tanka,
letters and spoken word
along with his haiku, travel
journals, and essays.
The only poet in old-time
literature who paid attention with praise
to ordinary women, children, and teenagers
in hundreds of poems
Hundreds upon hundreds of Basho works
(mostly renku)about women, children,
teenagers, friendship, compassion, love.
These are resources we can use to better
understand ourselves and humanity.
Interesting and heartfelt
(not scholarly and boring)
for anyone concerned with
humanity.
“An astonishing range of
social subject matter and
compassionate intuition”
"The primordial power
of the feminine emanating
from Basho's poetry"
Hopeful, life-affirming
messages from one of
the greatest minds ever.
Through his letters,
we travel through his mind
and discover Basho's
gentleness and humanity.
I plead for your help in
finding a person or group
to take over my 3000 pages of Basho material,
to edit and improve the material, to receive 100%
of royalties, to spread Basho’s wisdom worldwide
and preserve for future generations.
Quotations from Basho Prose
The days and months are
guests passing through eternity.
The years that go by
also are travelers.
The mountains in silence
nurture the spirit;
the water with movement
calms the emotions.
All the more joyful,
all the more caring
Seek not the traces
of the ancients;
seek rather the
places they sought.
Sunshiny day /celestial maiden caresses /the rock spring /Chant of Lotus Sutra /at the window elegantly //
はるる日は /石の井なでる /天おとめ /艶なる窓に/法華読む声
Seifu begins with a fantasy, and Basho follows with the voice of a living woman:
Sunshiny day
celestial maiden caresses
the rock spring
Chant of Lotus Sutra
at the window elegantly
Complete Basho Renku Interpretations: vol. 6: p. 15
芭蕉連句全註解 ６巻：１５
清風は空想で始まり、芭蕉は生きた女性の声でそれに続く。
Haruru hi wa / ishi no inaderu /ten otomeSeifuu
23はるる日は / 石の井なでる / 天おとめ
天津乙女が晴れた日には水汲む石井を撫でる
An angel caresses the clear water flowing from the rocks
En naru mado ni / hokke yomu koeBasho
24艶 なる 窓 に / 法華読む声芭蕉
芭蕉は、湧き水を撫でる天使法華経を唱える女性の声の優美さを
結びつけと、女性の神性意識として表現しているのである。
Basho connects the angel caressing the spring water with the elegance of a female voice
chanting the Lotus Sutra, expressing his awareness of the divine female.
In the Noh play The Feather Mantle a celestial maiden caresses the spring water in praise for the beauty of a sunny day on Earth equal to that in Heaven. Basho counters angel, flowing water, and sunny day with a female voice chanting the Lotus Sutra, which for many East Asians contains the ultimate and complete teachings of Buddha. Buddhist philosopher Daisaku Ikeda says〝The Lotus Sutra teaches that all living beings possess the world of Buddhahood. There is not even a hint of discrimination toward women.”
The woman in Basho’s stanza chants the Sutra, beginning with the famous nam myoho renge kyo, not in the monotonic drone of priests, but rather elegantly, musically, as a celestial maiden caresses a spring of clear water. In both stanzas the material and spiritual blend through the female, but Basho especially focuses on the elegance of her voice.
Tina Turner, who has practiced Buddhism since the 1970s, chants the Lotus Sutra on her CD Beyond. She says:
“Nam-myoho-renge-kyo” is a song. It is a sound and a rhythm and it touches a place inside you. That place is the subconscious mind. I believe that it is the highest place and, if you communicate with it, that is when you receive information on what to do. Singing a song can make you cry. Singing a song can make you happy. That’s spirit—the spirit inside of you.I feel that chanting for thirty-five years has opened a door inside me, and that even if I never chanted again, that door would still be there. I feel at peace with myself.
Basho portrays the woman’s path to Enlightenment not inside a temple, but rather beside the window watching the world in sunshine while she sings the words of Buddha. He blends the Lotus Sutra, the heart of Buddhism, with sunshine and nature’s glory to encourage women to find peace with themselves and the world.
Basho wrote hundreds of poems about women and children, about friendship, love, and compassion, possibly the most pro-female, child-centered, and life-affirming works in world literature.
I plead for your help in finding a person or group to take over my 3000 pages of Basho material, to edit and improve the presentation, to receive all royalties from sales, to spread Basho’s wisdom worldwide and preserve for future generations.
The only substantial
collection in English
of Basho's renku, tanka,
letters and spoken word
along with his haiku, travel
journals, and essays.
The only poet in old-time
literature who paid attention with praise
to ordinary women, children, and teenagers
in hundreds of poems
Hundreds upon hundreds of Basho works
(mostly renku)about women, children,
teenagers, friendship, compassion, love.
These are resources we can use to better
understand ourselves and humanity.
Interesting and heartfelt
(not scholarly and boring)
for anyone concerned with
humanity.
“An astonishing range of
social subject matter and
compassionate intuition”
"The primordial power
of the feminine emanating
from Basho's poetry"
Hopeful, life-affirming
messages from one of
the greatest minds ever.
Through his letters,
we travel through his mind
and discover Basho's
gentleness and humanity.
I plead for your help in
finding a person or group
to take over my 3000 pages of Basho material,
to edit and improve the material, to receive 100%
of royalties, to spread Basho’s wisdom worldwide
and preserve for future generations.
Quotations from Basho Prose
The days and months are
guests passing through eternity.
The years that go by
also are travelers.
The mountains in silence
nurture the spirit;
the water with movement
calms the emotions.
All the more joyful,
all the more caring
Seek not the traces
of the ancients;
seek rather the
places they sought.
