FRIDAY 11TH SEPTEMBER

Look in the perfume of flowers and of nature for peace of mind and joy of life. (Wang Wei 701-circa 761 AD, Chinese painter, poet and musician)

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This is the 3rd of Joy Shaylor’s flower paintings



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SOLITUDE

Two poems by Wang Wei

My Retreat at Mount ZhongNan

In middle life I became immersed
In the philosophy of Tao.
Later I went to live
At the foot of South Mountain.
When I am happy I walk alone in the hills.

I know within my heart
What is good and which is beautiful.
When I arrive at the source of the stream
I sit down to rest and to watch the mists rising.
Sometimes I need a time-worn woodcutter,
Talking and laughing together,
We forget it is time to go home!


In a Retreat among Bamboos

Leaning alone in the close bamboos,
I am playing my lute and humming a song
Too softly for anyone to hear,
Except my comrade, the bright moon.

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This is by the Russian painter Arkhip Ivanovich Kuindzhi (1842-1910)



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A ZEN STORY

Twenty monks and one young nun were practising meditation under a famous Zen Master.

The nun was very beautiful and before long many of the monks had secretly fallen in love with her. Only one of them however showed his feelings, by slipping a love letter to her when nobody was looking.

The next day they were all assembled to hear a lecture from the Master. When it had finished, the nun stood up and, in front of everyone, said to the one who had written to her, “If you really love me, come and embrace me now.”

And the moral of course is - If you love, love openly.

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She walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that's best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes:
Thus mellow'd to that tender light
Which heaven to gaudy day denies.

One shade the more, one ray the less,
Had half impair'd the nameless grace
Which waves in every raven tress,
Or softly lightens o'er her face;
Where thoughts serenely sweet express
How pure, how dear their dwelling place.

And on that cheek, and o'er that brow,
So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,
The smiles that win, the tints that glow,
But tell of days in goodness spent,
A mind at peace with all below,
A heart whose love is innocent! (Lord Byron 1788-1824)

The poet was inspired to write this by the beauty of his cousin Mrs Wilmot.

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Many years ago this Chopin piano piece became known as "So Deep is the Night". It's the Etude Op10 No3 in E major “Tristesse” by Chopin, played by the Polish-born American Arthur Rubinstein.



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After a break of three months, my HAIKU HOMESTEAD blog is in operation again. I’ve made some changes to the format and to the style, and you can see it at -

http://haikuhomestead.blogspot.com

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