The temple bell stops but I still hear the sound coming out of the flowers.
MATSUO BASHOThe temple bell stops but I still hear the sound coming out of the flowers.
MATSUO BASHONo matter where your interest lies, you will not be able to accomplish anything unless you bring your deepest devotion to it.
MATSUO BASHOA flute with no holes is not a flute.
MATSUO BASHOOld pond, leap-splash – a frog.
MATSUO BASHOPoverty’s child – he starts to grind the rice, and gazes at the moon.
MATSUO BASHOWhen 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 BASHOApril’s air stirs in Willow-leaves, a butterfly Floats and balances.
MATSUO BASHODo not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Seek what they sought.
MATSUO BASHOGo to the pine if you want to learn about the pine, or to the bamboo if you want to learn about the bamboo. And in doing so, you must leave your subjective preoccupation with yourself. Otherwise you impose yourself on the object and you do not learn.
MATSUO BASHOSitting quietly, doing nothing, Spring comes, and the grass grows, by itself.
MATSUO BASHOOld dark sleepy pool… Quick unexpected frog Goes plop! Watersplash!
MATSUO BASHOAwakened at midnight by the sound of the water jar cracking from the ice.
MATSUO BASHOBreaking the silence Of an ancient pond, A frog jumped into water – A deep resonance.
MATSUO BASHOThe moon and sun are travelers through eternity. Even the years wander on. Whether drifting through life on a boat or climbing toward old age leading a horse, each day is a journey, and the journey itself is home.
MATSUO BASHOCome, see the true flowers of this pained world.
MATSUO BASHOGo 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