black
grey
blue
red
brown
white

Winter garden, the moon thinned to a thread, insects singing.

Matsuo Basho

Make the universe your companion, always bearing in mind the true nature of things-mountains and rivers, trees and grasses, and humanity-and enjoy the falling blossoms and the scattering leaves.
MATSUO BASHO

Companion Humanity Leaving Mindset Mountain Universe Wisdom Yourself
Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Seek what they sought.
MATSUO BASHO

Deep Seek Teaching Wisdom
Winter solitude- in a world of one colour the sound of the wind.
MATSUO BASHO

Oneself Solitude Sound Wind Winter
The temple bell stops but I still hear the sound coming out of the flowers.
MATSUO BASHO

Flower Myself Sound Stop Temple
When composing a verse let there not be a hair’s breath separating your mind from what you write; composition of a poem must be done in an instant, like a woodcutter felling a huge tree or a swordsman leaping at a dangerous enemy.
MATSUO BASHO

Breathe Compose Dangerous Enemy Fall Hairs Mindset Tree Writing
First snow-falling-on the half-finished bridge.
MATSUO BASHO

Bridge Fall Snow
Every moment of life is the last, every poem is a death poem.
MATSUO BASHO

Death Life Moments Poem
The basis of art is change in the universe.
MATSUO BASHO

Art Change One Liner Universe
Nothing in the cry of cicadas suggests they are about to die.
MATSUO BASHO

Cry Death Flower
When your consciousness has become ripe in true zazen-pure like clear water, like a serene mountain lake, not moved by any wind-then anything may serve as a medium for realization.
MATSUO BASHO

Clear Conscious Purity Realize Service Water Yourself
Go to the object. Leave your subjective preoccupation with yourself. Do not impose yourself on the object. Become one with the object. Plunge deep enough into the object to see something like a hidden glimmering there.
MATSUO BASHO

Deep Enough Gide Leaving Object Subject Yourself
A flute with no holes is not a flute.
MATSUO BASHO

Deep Instrument One Liner
Between our two lives there is also the life of the cherry blossom.
MATSUO BASHO

Live Nature Ourselves Tree
How I long to see among dawn flowers, the face of God.
MATSUO BASHO

Face Flower God Myself See
Friends part forever wild geese lost in cloud.
MATSUO BASHO

Cloud Forever Friendship Lost Wild
Learn the rules, and then forget them.
MATSUO BASHO

Forget Inspirational Learning Rule

Winter garden, the moon thinned to a thread, insects singing.

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Winter garden, the moon thinned to a thread, insects singing.

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