"Lotus Moon" by Rengetsu *****

• Poetry
• Japanese author, a Buddhist nun, born in 1791
• This translated collection was originally published in 1994
• #7 in "The Journey Series"
• Introduction by John Stevens:
• p.9..."Rengetsu was born in the pleasure quarters of Kyoto in 1791, the illegitimate offspring of a high-ranking samurai and a young geisha."....pleasure quarters....
• p.11..."...she once likened herself to 'a drifting cloud blown by a fierce wind.'"
• p.14..."A reader  'waka' is also expected to augment the sentiments expressed in a poem with his or her own experiences."
• Afterword:  Hermitage Heart by Bonnie Myotai Treace, Sensei:
• "Rengetsu lived what could have easily become a tragic life."
• p.120...."One pleasure of discovering the lives and teachings of the rare women we find in the history f Buddhism is seeing how they take up the tragedies in their lives and transform them.  They remind us of the freedom that no circumstance can take from us.."
• p.123..."At dawn she sees snow blanketing the hills and knows that there must have been a fierce storm in the night.  She kindles the fire.  In its thusness, it is just thus."
• Notes:
• produced 50,000 pieces of art
• an artist, a Buddhist practitioner, and an emancipated woman
• p.35..."Am I a man dreaming I am a butterfly or a butterfly dreaming I am a man?"
• Review:  Oh!  How incredibly lovely!  This is a collection of "waka",  a form of Japanese poetry, written by a Buddhist nun named Rengetsu.  The poems are organized by season and are stunning!  The Introduction and Afterword are excellent accompaniments in terms of the biography of the poet and the offering of insights into Buddhist practice and symbolism.  This is a collection which I will keep close at hand to enjoy throughout the year.