History Haiku/Tanka
Past is a Story
Partially made up by you
As is the Future
In between is the Present
How much are you living Now
© Ken Chawkin
September 1, 2012
Fairfield, Iowa, USA
Archive for the ‘My poems’ Category
History Haiku/Tanka by Ken Chawkin
September 2, 2012Haiku on The Nature of Haiku
July 19, 2012Haiku Defined
3 lines, 2 spaces,
17 feet to walk thru;
then, the unending
∞
Haiku Discovered
a poem unfolds
as words take their place in line
this one’s a haiku
∞
Art of the Haiku
do away with words
and you’ll have a way with words
speak less and say more
∞
When Writing Haiku
trim off excess words
expose the bones of meaning
enter Truth deeply
© Ken Chawkin
Other haiku you might enjoy: Transformed—my first haiku | COMMITTED (a two-haiku poem) | Art of the Haiku by Ken Chawkin | Five Haiku | 13 Ways to Write Haiku: A Poet’s Dozen | A Haiku on Haiku Poets | A Haiku on The Heart of Haiku. Search this blog for more haiku and tanka.
Art of the Haiku by Ken Chawkin
July 19, 2012Art of the Haiku
do away with words
and you’ll have a way with words
speak less and say more
© Ken Chawkin
Also see Haiku On The Nature of Haiku
Two spontaneous haiku while talking to Sali
June 17, 2012These two haiku were composed spontaneously while talking to my friend Sali. She’s also my muse, and keeps me, both of us, amused.
I
Our body’s a purse
containing the universe.
Can you spare some change?
II
The bib testifies
to the lunch that was eaten—
Boy, that was good food!
© Ken Chawkin
Fairfield, Iowa
Phrases come out spontaneously while talking with Sali. I count the syllables and realize they make up the first two lines of a haiku, then come up with the third line. Don’t know where they come from, but the juxtapositions make us laugh. The first haiku was composed mid-morning, and the second while feeding Sali her lunch, on Saturday, June 16, 2012. Posted them today, Fathers Day, Sunday, June 17, 2012.
A Wake-Up Haiku
May 31, 2012A koan is an unsolvable riddle meant to stop a Zen meditator’s analytical mind from thinking, and hopefully transition into a state of no-thought, the state of transcendence. There is a classic Zen koan meant to do just that, which asks the question: What is the sound of one hand clapping? Here is one tongue-in-cheek answer meant to enlighten or wake you up.
A Wake-Up Haiku
Solve this Zen koan:
The sound of one hand clapping?
A slap in the face!
The sound of one hand clapping?
A slap in the face!
© Ken Chawkin, May 30, 2012, Fairfield, Iowa
Luckily there is a simpler way—the effortless practice of Transcendental Meditation, which allows the conscious thinking mind to transcend. With the help of a mantra, a specific harmonious suitable meaningless thought-sound, together with step-by-step instructions from a qualified TM teacher, the mind naturally, effortlessly settles down to lesser and lesser states of mental activity, to the least excited state of awareness, when the thought drops off, leaving the mind without an object of attention, yet deeply restful and alert, fully awake inside. This inner unbounded wakefulness is the basis for all clarity, energy, and creativity after meditation.
TM allows the mind to experience its own essential nature beyond thought—transcendental consciousness or pure awareness, called turiya in Sanskrit, a 4th major state of consciousness at the basis of the other 3 relative states of consciousness—waking, dreaming and sleeping. With regular practice, over time, a natural integration occurs in the nervous system as it unfolds its inherent ability to live the two states simultaneously—a 5th style of functioning called Cosmic Consciousness. With continued practice, utilizing advanced techniques, including the TM-Sidhi program, the evolution of even two more states of consciousness develop—a 6th, God Consciousness, a refined experience of the 5th; and ultimately a 7th, Unity Consciousness, where the individual is truly universal.
Related posts: Words—a poem on the nature of words and mind | Upon waking uP by Ken Chawkin | Are all meditation techniques the same? | John Hagelin — “Only Higher Consciousness Can Transform Our World” — Beyond Awakening Blog and THP: How Meditation Techniques Compare.
In the Parkview Cave—a tanka for Sali inspired by Sarah during an acupuncture treatment
April 21, 2012In the Parkview Cave
A tanka for Sali inspired by Sarah during an acupuncture treatment
I come to see you
A sanyasin in a cave
Doing her tapas
The transformation is there
Self-contained, blissful, you are
© Ken Chawkin
April 21, 2012
Fairfield, Iowa
My first haiku, Transformed, is appropriate here.
Sali’s Shakti (a two-tanka poem)
March 13, 2012Sali’s Shakti
(a two-tanka poem)
They say your power
Used to shine…from your bright mind
Now…it’s through your heart
From you…flow Beauty and Grace
Love lights…in your eyes and face
How does this happen…
That I love you even more…
You fulfill my heart…
This force that draws…me…to you
Wants to make…a One…from two
© Ken Chawkin
March 12/13, 2012
Fairfield, Iowa, USA
Words—a poem on the nature of words and mind
February 19, 2012Ever looked at a legal document and wondered what the heck you just read? Depending on the way we use language, communication can obfuscate or elucidate, confuse or clarify.
Words can mean different things to different people. The English language uses different words to mean the same thing, and different things use similar sounding words. It can get confusing, especially if English is not your first language. Apparently only Sanskrit has a direct one-to-one relationship between a word and its meaning, between name and form, nama-rupa.
One way to use words to create clarity of mind is in meditation, where the mind, if allowed, can refer to its own essential nature. In the case of Transcendental Meditation, a technique that automatically transcends its own activity, a different kind of word, or thought, is employed—a mantra—a suitable harmonious meaningless sound. With the appropriate mantra, and instructions how to use it properly, the mind can effortlessly transcend words, thinking, its own activity, and arrive at the source of mind, a state of pure awareness, the meditator’s inner Self.
Hope this introduction helps you to better understand this abstract poem I wrote in the late 1980’s. For lack of a better title, I just called it, Words.
Words
the mind is of two minds
one listens to the sounds of words
the other follows their meanings
words help the mind to know things
names are the words for things
things are the forms of names
sounds and meanings of names and forms
things are contained within words
when words become things in themselves
then words get contained within words
sounds and meanings within names and forms
names and forms within sounds and meanings
layers of communication get built up create complex structures
and break down under the weight of their own words
too many words hinder the mind’s ability to know things
the mind cannot know its own mind
. . . . .
when words use themselves
to lose themselves
they allow the mind
to experience itself
experiencing itself
losing itself
to the Self
left to its Self
alone
the silent home
where things and words are one
all one
© Ken Chawkin
so love tanka
February 18, 2012so love tanka
“i carry your heart with me(i carry it in my heart)” — e.e. cummings
you quicken our hearts
(and our eyes start to well up)
saying, i LOVE you!
so precious, so mutual,
so open, so deep, so true!
© Ken Chawkin
February 18, 2012
Fairfield, Iowa
The Uncarved Blog 