"ikkyu" poems
Ikkyu dropped
his Grand Master’s teacup -
the cup broke into pieces
And Ikkyu’s jaws dropped
*Would the Grand Master now break
a thing or two of Ikkyu’s body parts?*
“O Master,” says Ikkyu
when the Grand Master arrives
*“I am contemplating Death;
please enlighten me on Death”*
“All things pass, O Ikkyu,”
answers the Grand Master
*“Death is inevitable
And only the foolish mourn
or are swayed by emotion –
the wise know
Death is in the nature of all things”*
“Indeed, O Wise Master,” replies Ikkyu
*“It is no wonder then that your teacup
passed away today, as you can see here -
and you, O Grand Master,
have most wisely expounded on this grave matter”*
The Grand Master loses his Grand look
Aug 7, 2013
Aug 7, 2013 at 8:27 AM UTC
Ikkyu as a very young child
Displayed signs of being clever.
That he would one day be a great master,
There was no doubt whatsoever.
His teacher had one small treasure--
A precious teacup, a rare antique.
Its beauty was beyond compare,
Its style and craftsmanship unique.
One day Ikkyu happened to break
His teacher's cup. Horror-struck,
He heard his teacher's approaching footsteps,
And there he was: a sitting duck.
Ikkyu quickly picked up the pieces
And held them behind his back. "Why,"
He asked his sagacious teacher,
"Is it that people have to die?"
"Dying is a natural thing,"
The teacher replied, trying to give
A meaningful explanation.
"Everything has just so long to live."
Ikkyu slowly held out his hands,
Showing his teacher the broken cup.
Then he demurely said, "It appears
As though your teacup's time was up."
(2-3-17) By Bob B
°An old anecdote retold here in verse
Mar 3, 2017
Mar 3, 2017 at 10:50 AM UTC
i want to be
cool like
kerouac
bursting into a million
pieces with complete
abandon
oh jack.
you were so wise
yet so lost in your
oblivion.
i'm cool like kerouac
lost in nostalgia for
those aimless wandering
years
not cool
cool
it's all the same
jack
on the road seeking a
new freedom
now that's cool
like far out zen cool
cool like ikkyu
Mar 5, 2012
Mar 5, 2012 at 12:21 AM UTC
It's the mad saints that interest me,
the holy fools of the Divine Mystery.
Ikkyu. Ezekiel. Buddha. Jesus. Lao-Tzu.
The ones where their lives turn upside down,
just because they walk a path against
the flow of convention.
A holy fool laughs a laughter that
cuts through all the ******** and hypocricy.
A laughter that rises from the heart,
And enters the heart of another
like a small spark before a wild fire.
Feb 15, 2014
Feb 15, 2014 at 2:21 AM UTC
-from After Ikkyu
Not here and now but now and here.
If you don't know the difference
is a matter of life and death, get down
naked on bare knees in the snow
and study the ticking of your watch.
May 26, 2015
May 26, 2015 at 10:10 AM UTC
Wordless Heart Sutra
No meaning,
Words. An ape grasps for meaning.
A spider in a web of
desire, greed and emptiness.
Words useless words,
Empty contracts.
Words, poetry ******** A fake drunkard
masking as Picasso.
Words, cackling meaningless
words.
Blah, Blah, Blah.
Fingers pointing at the
moon...Words.
Rising...waves of feeling...
music, painting...sculpture,
Rapture.
Erupt...wordless...free...empty
golden noble silence.
The truth..no one hears...
But silence.
An atom in the universe,
matter with curiosity.
Void in form
When, just as they are,
White dewdrops gather
On scarlet maple leaves
Regard the scarlet beads!
Form in Void
The tree is stripped,
All Colour, fragrance gone,
Yet already on the bough,
Uncaring spring.
Ikkyu laughs!
May 2, 2015
May 2, 2015 at 12:06 PM UTC
A love note to Ikkyu
my death? Who was it anyway
always where he was
never no
not once ever
seeing himself an eyeball speaks.
This is one of my favorite poems written by the Zen Master Ikkyu Sojun
May 2, 2015
May 2, 2015 at 11:56 AM UTC
Remember Ikkyu every day.
Adorned leaves with his poetry, then cast them away.
While we, in another time and place,
consign our efforts to cyberspace.
Oct 20, 2019
Oct 20, 2019 at 2:58 PM UTC