the same water

Rain, hail and snow,
Ice too, are set apart,
But when they fall, --
The same water
Of the valley stream.



from Zen and Zen Classics - Volume One by R. H. Blyth, The Hokuseido Press/Heian International, San Francisco, 1982

if you would like to read more excerpts from this book please refer to:
http://home.att.net/~paul.dowling/archive/zen/blyth/blyth-all.htm


Photo: trekking in Ladakh

never at ease

So, beneath the starry dome
And the floor of plains and seas,
I have never felt at home,
Never wholly been at ease.


Basho Matsuo (1644 ~ 1694)



translation by R.H. Blyth

if you would like to read more of Basho haikus please refer to:
http://www.big.or.jp/~loupe/links/ehisto/ebasho.shtml
http://www.haikupoetshut.com/basho1.html

painting by Evard Munch, Starry Night, oil on canvas, 1893
if you would like to see more of Munch's paintings please refer to:
http://www.munch.museum.no/?id=&mid=&lang=en
http://www.edvard-munch.com/index1.htm

time elapsed

A camellia flower fell;
A cock crowed;
Some more fell.

Baishitsu




from Zen and Zen Classics - Volume One by R. H. Blyth, The Hokuseido Press/Heian International, San Francisco, 1982

if you would like to read more excerpts from this book please refer to:
http://home.att.net/~paul.dowling/archive/zen/blyth/blyth-all.htm

Illustration: Ando Hiroshige, Sparrows in the Sazanka in Snow (Setchu Sazanka ni Suzume),1832-34, from the series Nature Prints (O-Tanzaku), Publisher: Jakurindo
(Sazanka is the Japanese common name for Camellia)

if you would like to see more prints by Ando Hiroshige please refer to:
http://www.hiroshige.org.uk/