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  • Published: 1 October 2003
  • ISBN: 9781593760083
  • Imprint: Catapult
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 178
  • RRP: $40.00
Categories:

A Zen Wave

Basho's Haiku and Zen



Zen Buddhism distinguishes itself by brilliant flashes of insight and its terseness of expression. The haiku verse form is a superb means of studying Zen modes of thought and expression, for its seventeen syllables impose a rigorous limitation that confines the poet to vital experience. Here haiku by Bashõ are translated by Robert Aitken, with commentary that provides a new and far deeper understanding of Bashõ's work than ever before.

In presenting themes from the haiku and from Zen literature that open the doors both to the poems and to Zen itself, Aitken has produced the first book about the relationship between Zen and haiku. His readers are certain to find it invaluable for the remarkable revelations it offers.

  • Published: 1 October 2003
  • ISBN: 9781593760083
  • Imprint: Catapult
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 178
  • RRP: $40.00
Categories:

About the author

Matsuo Basho

Matsuo Bashō (1644 – 1694), later known as Matsuo Chūemon Munefusa, was the most famous poet of the Edo period in Japan. 

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