Revelation and Satori

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A black night of stars:

Cherry petals are falling;

Water, rice seedlings.

~ Buson [Englished by Phillip Whidden]

The black of night with stars implies the whole —

Or should.  Though they appear as white, their blue

And yellow, red and orange against the coal

Of sky with stars of violet are true

About the universe when others, green

And purple are considered, too.  We infer

Totality of cosmos.  We have seen

The truth.  Here cherry blossoms send their blur

Between the seedlings of the rice.  The shine

Of cosmic light from water’s surface brings

The larger meaning to our minds.  No shrine

Is requisite.  Serendipity sings.

  The indigo of water and the hues

    Of sky above thus juxtaposed are clues.

* “Satori is a sudden, intuitive awakening in Zen Buddhism, revealing the true nature of reality and transcending ordinary consciousness.”

© Phillip Whidden