Customer Reviews

Lotus Moon: The Poetry of Rengetsu (Companions for the Journey)

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Another reviewer called the translations of these waka "pure" and John Stevens truly collaborates with the Buddhist nun poet, Rengetsu ("lotus moon") in this collection. Each poem has crystalline clarity and shines like a full moon. One that stays in my head and my heart is:

Looking out over the bay,
I see clouds of cold rain
Summoning winter,
And hear the wind in the pines
Whisper its name.

Ah!

This is it the, the real thing. Start with the afterword by Zen master, Myotai Treace,it provides a special insight into the poems,the practice and the nature of reality.You might begin with "Heart" on page 97 to enter into the depths which beckon.

Whatever you do, don't rush through this book. The waka poems (or tanka, as they're called today) in this collection by the Buddhist nun Rengetsu are wonderful, filled with a strong spirituality alloyed with a refined sensitivity...along with brief shimmers of gentle wit. But these qualities are extremely subtle and subdued, and I nearly missed them. Read each poem with care and let it sink in slowly, and the poem will gradually unfold in your mind's eye. This is Buddhist literature at its best, not only fostering a meditative attitude through its content but requiring it through its form.

John Stevens' introduction at the beginning is concise and to the point, explaining Rengetsu's poetics and introducing us to a marvelously self-determined religious woman who made it through an incredibly tough life full of sadness and hardship and supported herself though her artistic pursuits in ceramics and calligraphy. Much can be gleaned in these few pages on the vibrancy of the Buddhist tradition in late Tokugawa Japan (vs. theories that it was moribund and decadent) and of its empowering potential for women (vs. recent overarching charges that Buddhism is misogynistic and sexist), not that such issues are overly emphasized here per se. More to the point is the interaction of Buddhist ideals and aesthetics, of which the whole book is an invaluable showcase. I still can't decide whether it appealed more to the side of me fascinated with Buddhism or the side of me moved deeply by Japanese literature, but why quibble? The total effect transcends such limiting discriminations.

I have been reading the poems of this woman for some time, and enjoyed this book of her poems so much. She saw so much tragedy in her life, yet saw the true nature of existance in all things. Highly recommended.