ZEN BUDDHISM AS EXPRESSED BY MATSUO BASHO IN A HAIKU: Zen Buddhism is a specific form of Buddhist practice and thought which has its origins in Chinese Chan Buddhism and was developed in Japan in the 13th century (Zaehner 340). It focuses primarily on intuitive insight and realizing one's own Buddha-nature (Zaehner 331). Buddhism has been credited with introducing art to Japanese society (Zaehner 337), and the poetic art form of haiku can certainly be linked to Buddhist ideals of beauty and simplicity. Zen Buddhism, in particular, is often associated with haiku poetic form and in this essay we will examine one specific haiku composed by 17th century Japanese poet Matsuo Basho. The haiku I have chosen to examine for this essay is interpreted as possessing many Zen qualities (Suzuki np). The poem was composed on a mild but drizzly spring day while Basho was meditating on the sights and sounds of his garden in Edo, Japan (Basho 32). "Breaking the silence Of an ancient pond A frog jumped into water- A deep resonance". (Basho 32) Through its structure, metaphor, and imagery, Basho's haiku illustrates several key concepts of Zen Buddhism; impermanence, immediacy, and non-duality. Impermanence: Zen Buddhism arose out of the Mahayana tradition (Ludwig 145) which espouses the importance of understanding shunyata/emptiness (Ludwig 126). The concept of shunyata has to do with the impermanent and therefore empty nature of everything, i.e.: everything is in a state of change and is empty of permanent essence (Fisher, Bailey 120). Zen Buddhism emphasizes that because nothing is permanent, because everything is shunyata, one must not fall prey to the illusion of clinging to what is not there (Dold class lecture June 7, 2002). Haiku is the shortest form of Japanese poetry (Basho 9). Its brevity gives it a sense of fleeting which is reflective of Zen concepts of shunyata. Japanese poetry typically describes isolated experiences and often uses metaphor to convey a deeper meaning (Basho 18). The experience of the haiku itself is so brief that it conveys a sense of impermanence in its structure alone. Basho's imagery adds to this idea with the clever use of movement within the haiku. The pond is in a state of flux, changing from still to disturbed. The frog is moving from land to air to water. The garden which Basho was meditating on is changing from silence to sound. And hence the entire universe, as Basho perceived it at that moment, is in a state of constant movement, constant change, without distinct essence. Even meditation, as Basho discovered, is shunyata. Immediacy: Zen Buddhism asserts the idea that every individual is already in a state of enlightenment, is already of Buddha-nature, but that they must first realize their enlightenment in order to see their own Buddha-nature (Ludwig 287). This concept of intrinsic enlightenment is tied to perceptions of the immediate. If we are already enlightened, enlightenment must then be in the here and now, in this instant (Ludwig 287). This is especially apparent in the Rinzai school of Zen Buddhism, which subscribes to "sudden enlightenment" (Ludwig 287). In other words, Buddha-nature is immediate upon realization of one's own enlightenment. Because haiku generally focuses on depicting an immediate experience and ascribing meaning to that experience, it is not difficult to see Zen concepts illustrated in this poetic form. T. M. Ludwig describes Japanese Buddhist poems as possessing "a deep sense of the immediacy of nirvanic experience in the midst of natural life." (Ludwig 296) Basho conveys this immediate nirvanic experience through an incredibly unremarkable action: that of a frog jumping into a pond. Yet through the ordinariness of the setting, the sense of immediacy prevails. The frog is jumping into the water and dharma is revealed at the immediate moment of the action. In that one instant the water is disturbed, the frog is submerged, the garden is filled with sound, and the writer (or reader) is enlightened as to the true nature of the universe. The expression of immediacy in the haiku could not be truly conveyed if the reader of the poem was unable to experience the frog jumping into the water first hand. Haiku is particularly effective at involving the reader in the experience through its use of imagery and its freedom from too much language. By creating a snapshot effect, haiku allows the reader's intuition to experience the poem, instead of relying on the reader's understanding of language (Ludwig 296). The terseness of haiku and its concise descriptive quality is a way in which to convey meaning while bypassing language, part of Zen thinking that language is deceptive and inept to reveal dharma (Dold class lecture June 7, 2002). Non-duality: Focusing on the experience of the poem instead of the language transports the reader into the poem itself, as if the poem were both the object and the experience. This lack of duality (reader is not distinct from writer, poem is not distinct from experience) is a reflection of Zen understanding of Buddha nature being universal, an understanding with origins in Mahayana Buddhism which stresses the "nonduality of samsara and nirvana" (Ludwig 296). Basho expresses this nonduality by linking the natural objects within the haiku with each other, with Buddha-nature, and with enlightenment. The frog is not distinct from the pond once it has jumped into the pond. The pond is not distinct from the sound made as the frog entered the water. The sound is not distinct from the garden upon which Basho was meditating. Hence we see the chain of connection from one object to another and eventually to the subject, a clever method of illustrating shunyata. D.T. Suzuki describes the connection as follows: "This sound coming out of the old pond was heard by Basho as filling the entire universe. Not only was the totality of the environment absorbed in the sound and vanished into it, but Basho himself was altogether effaced from his consciousness". (Suzuki np) Perhaps the "deep resonance" Basho is referring to is this revelation of shunyata and nonduality, an understanding that arises from but extends beyond the immediacy of the moment. While Japanese haiku as a poetic form may not serve to illustrate Zen Buddhist concepts exclusively, the poem we have examined in this essay can be interpreted to convey the integral Zen concepts of impermanence, immediacy, and non-duality. Basho's use of movement, sound and image subtly describe an experience of enlightenment and a recognition of Buddha-nature in everyday objects and actions. BIBLIOGRAPHY: Basho, Matsuo. The Narrow Road to the Deep North and Other Travel Sketches. Translated from the Japanese with an introduction by Nobuyuki Yuasa. 1966. Penguin Books Ltd., London. Ludwig, Theodore M.. The Sacred Path. 2001. Prentice-Hall Inc., New Jersey. Nagarjuna. Emptiness in Fisher, Mary Pat and Lee W. Bailey Ed. An Anthology of Living Religions. 2000. Calamann and King Ltd., London. Suzuki, D.T.. Zen and Japanese Culture (excerpt) from The Poetry Store Archive. June 7, 2002. www.poetrystore.com/commenta.html Zaehner, R.C. (Ed.). The Hutchinson Encyclopedia of Living Faiths. 1988. Helicon Publishing Ltd., Oxford.
