Issa 1763-1828, Japan; lay priest, Pure Land Buddhist -
chin-deep in the fallen blossoms . . . frog!
*David G. Lanoue. Pure Land Haiku: The Art of Priest Issa.
Cherry blossoms mark the beginning of spring in Japan and have a brief life. They occasion celebrations far and wide.
Issa, a leading haiku poet in Japanese history, often refers to cherry blossoms when writing regarding transience, for in Buddhism, a central teaching to practice is the fleetingness of life. Lovely and admired, the cherry blossoms last two to seven days, then fall.
"Frog!" contrasts with fallen blossoms. Lanoue observes, "Like the frog, we find ourselves chin-deep in a world that owes much of its beauty to the fact that nothing in it will last." The grounded blossoms remind Issa of the lovely transiency of life. The frog is Issa - so you, me, and everyone we love. Your tea or coffee cup is the frog. A tree, bug, and fish are the frog. Every tree is the frog.
Yes, life forms are fleeting. Life remains; we do not. This becomes more viscerally apparent over time. Ephemerality becomes more evident and, if we keep on the Way, its beauty - the two are inseparable. Life, Issa says to us frogs, is the more beautiful and to be more treasured, for it is so brief.
Issa had heart-eyes to see this lovely-transciency. Do we? Seeing, we live more deeply, more in love with and attuned to life itself, to something that does not fall and wither. Something not Issa, you, or a frog. We can be frogs chin-deep in blossoms, with gratitude for the blossoms.
Could Issa be saying, "Don't be like that frog, intimate with brevity and not mindful of it, so not rightly appraising or appreciating the blossoms"? Live in awareness of the brevity of your life. Do not hide from it. You will value life more, others' and your brief, beautiful life.
We are the beauty of life in a passing form and fashion. See yourself, see life. More than your life. See through faces, including your own, not just at them. See through bark, limbs, and leaves. The tree is more than a tree. Seeing the sunlight, you see the Sun. Still, celebrate appearances. They are holy, too. They are how Love says love. Very good! Very good!
