As the great thirteenth century Zen master Dogen said, “When the self withdraws, the ten thousand things advance”. Lee Gurga reminds us that “haiku record the world as it is rather than as we should like it to be …the issue of ego vs. true receptivity is one of the most persistent and distressing issues of haiku” (6). Only when the mind is still does it become a clear pool in which “the thousand things” are faithfully reflected. It is from the contemplative mind that existential haiku come forth. Existential haiku achieve their effect through a selfless clarity of perception of the suchness of things. As Ch’an sage Seng-t’san has it: “When the mind makes no distinctions, all things are as they are”. This offers a subtle, if fleeting, liberation from the ache of wanting things to be otherwise. The reader can experience a mysterious and fleeting moment of release, of joy – “Ah! just so!” Thus, for Basho –
To the willow –
all hatred, and desire
of your heart
