Poetry

    Poet's Corner: verse old and new, chosen for its resonance with Zen and the Buddhist path.

    Hakuin's Song of Zazen

    Hakuin Ekaku, one of the most influential Rinzai Zen teachers, encapsulates
    Michael Haggiag
    Michael Haggiag

    Easy by Nature

    Lao Tsu

    The virtues of being like water in spiritual training.

    Hanshan's Poem

    Michael Haggiag
    Michael Haggiag

    Can there ever be beauty in pain and loss? The master poet Hanshan captures the bittersweet nature of impermanence in this poem.
    'Chanouyu Usucha' by poet Maria Eckhart captures the essence of doing, without doing.

    The Essence of Doing, without Doing

    Maria Eckhart's 'Chanouyu Usucha' 

    Maria Eckhart’s poem 'Chanouyu Usucha' explores the Japanese tea ceremony as a meditative practice of mindfulness.
    Three signs of being in Robert Frost's poem, 'Nothing Gold can Stay'

    Nothing Gold can Stay

    An Ode to Impermanence

    Robert Frost’s, 'Nothing Gold Can Stay', explores Buddhist teachings on impermanence, capturing life’s fleeting beauty through nature’s seasonal movements.

    Wild Geese by Mary Oliver (1935 – 2019)

    with commentary by Michael Haggiag

    This poem captures the essence of being able to stay in the ever present ‘now’.

    The Guest House by Jalaluddin Rumi (1207-1273)

    with commentary by Michael Haggiag

    Usually we try to get rid of unpleasant experiences. The mystical poet Rumi however, suggests a radically different approach.

    Wind by Phyllis Reid

    with commentary by Martin Goodson

    This is what it feels like to give 'myself' wholeheartedly into the everyday activities of life.