Haiku series from Sensei Alex Kakuyo
nature
Garden Haikus
Haiku #1 Plant the seeds in dirtWait calmly for them to growWhat if they do not Haiku #2 Plant fruit trees for foodTheir roots cut through the soilTheir fruit tastes like dirt Haiku #3 Water the gardenThe plants are hot and thirsty I am thirsty too Support Our Dharma Work
A Letter to Thich Nhat Hanh (Thay)
“We will meet at the source of each moment, and we will meet again in different forms of life.” Dear Thay, In deep gratitude for meeting Thay and the Plum Village Sangha. Thay, it has been some time since you passed away. Still, your memory remains more alive than ever. I still remember the morning […]
Snow in the Spring Time
Haiku # 1 Snow falls from the skyThe calendar says it’s SpringThe snow does not care Haiku #2 Planning my gardenPrepping the soil to plant seedsSnow ruins my pans Haiku #3 Winter snow is funI enjoy it every yearSpring snow… not so much Support Our Dharma Work
How to Learn from Nature
Living among snakes in the wilderness taught me about the value of mindfulness and how to apply it to different situations in life. Part of living in the wild requires an understanding of how to co-exist peacefully with other beings like snakes. One of the first things that I learned about snakes was their tendencies […]
Why is Nature Peaceful?
On a bright, moon-lit night, while walking back to my kuti in a forest in Thailand, I spotted a huge scorpion that had come out of hiding from under a rock. Out of curiosity, I pointed my flashlight directly at it for a moment, then continued to walk the path back to my resting place […]
Why Does the Mind Run Wild?
From being out in the wilderness, I’ve awakened to the reality of how fragile life is in all its form. During the day, I’ve seen bears cause deer and squirrels to flee into hiding. At night, I’ve heard the cries of hungry coyotes and wolves. As one of my teachers once said, the images used […]
Fire Haiku
1. Light a bonfireQuickly, write down all my sinsToss them in the flames 2. Do not get too closeFire burns through flesh and boneBut stay close enough 3. Winter is so coldThe snow gets deeper each dayA fire would be nice Support Our Dharma Work
Let It Rain
I heard the crack of thunder as it whipped across the sky and prepared myself for the downpour to come. I was sitting cross-legged in a tiny wooden kuti that was nestled among the tall trees and rugged rocks on land that was part of a remote forest monastery in Northern Thailand. As I sat […]