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 BASHODo not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Seek what they sought.
More Matsuo Basho Quotes
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Friends part forever wild geese lost in cloud.
MATSUO BASHO -
Calm and serene The sound of a cicada Penetrates the rock.
MATSUO BASHO -
Winter solitude- in a world of one colour the sound of the wind.
MATSUO BASHO -
Year by year, the monkey’s mask reveals the monkey.
MATSUO BASHO -
Old pond, frog jumps in – plop.
MATSUO BASHO -
From the pine tree, learn of the pine tree; And from the bamboo, of the bamboo.
MATSUO BASHO -
The temple bell stops but I still hear the sound coming out of the flowers.
MATSUO BASHO -
Not to think of yourself / as someone who did not count — / Festival of the Souls.
MATSUO BASHO -
Without bitterest cold that penetrates to the very bone, how can plum blossoms send forth their fragrance all over the world?
MATSUO BASHO -
A thicket of summer grass / Is all that remains / Of the dreams of ancient warriors.
MATSUO BASHO -
Every moment of life is the last, every poem is a death poem.
MATSUO BASHO -
I am one who eats breakfast gazing at morning glories.
MATSUO BASHO -
A flute with no holes is not a flute.
MATSUO BASHO -
Fresh spring! / The world is only Nine days old – / These fields and mountains!
MATSUO BASHO -
No matter where your interest lies, you will not be able to accomplish anything unless you bring your deepest devotion to it.
MATSUO BASHO