Temple Reflections

103 Pages. As new book with flawless interior text pages. Basho, the Japanese haiku poet, begins his Narrow Road to the Deep North with a meditation on the possible death that faces a wanderer, a traveler. Not only physical death but a spiritual transformation that may initiate a whole new being. As the author departed for a year in Japan, Java, India, Iran, Sicily, and Greece how he would return. He wanted to visit holy places, past and present, in a long personal meditation on their architecture and art, literature and liberation. It is a long way from Albuquerque to Kyoto; many miles and many places can leave an impression on their consciousing. To leave one's culture with its familiar patterns yields a kind of freedom to explore new cultures, to experiment with new patterns. Why not try to create within the haiku form some distillations of impressions? The haiku form within the Japanese poetic diary reaches a perfection in the writings of Matsuo Basho (1644-1694). The prospect of Japan, of tracing Basho's steps, stimulates the sharp lens of haiku. Concrete three-line poems of five, seven and five syllables take form in his reflecting. He is aware of how creating within a form gives freedom a structure that avoids chaos, and gives choosing a matrix in which to unfold. Contents in Seven Chapters: Journey to Japan, Kyoto Temples, Pilgrimage Around Honshu, Java Between Sea Voyages, India Sculptural Paradise, Isfahan and Persepolis, and Greek Temples.…