A Haiku and the need for us to have great teachers throughout our life…

By Rajesh Setty on Tue 31 Oct 2006, 9:22 PM – 1 Comment

What has a Haiku got to do with the need for us to have great teachers throughout our life?

Consider the following Haiku:

When I look carefully,

I see the nazumia blooming
by the hedge!

– Basho, Zen mystic and master

Nazunia is a common flower – grows by itself by the side of the road.

What did you understand from the above? If you were like me, it wouldn’t be much. It is so simple that we may read it once and move on.

I was reading Osho’s book “Intuition” where he disects a bit deeper into this poem of three lines. Here is what I got from that analysis:

The last syllable – kana in Japanese – is translated by an exclamation mark as there is no easy translation for kana. Kana really means “I am amazed!”

So, what is the Haiku hinting? That when you look at something attentively or with caring even a nazunia can transform itself into a lotus. Remember the old saying – “beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” The point is that if someone can see something fascinating in a nazunia, the whole world can look better for him or her.

Now, isn’t it clear without a doubt that we need great teachers throughout our life? Anybody can identify the extraordinary. Great teachers discover extraordinaty from within the ordinary.

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