Mindful Renku

The Spiritual Journey of Linked Verse

De: David G. Lanoue

Narrado por: Virtual Voice

This book is both a survey of the 1,200-year history of Japanese linked verse and a how-to manual. It explores how renku became a Buddhist ritual in the Muromachi Period with rules designed to (1) promote an awareness of the transience of things and beings; (2) reinforce the doctrine of avoiding samsara, the cycle of birth and death that binds souls to a world of suffering; (3) encourage the contemplation of the Mandala of All Creation, a comprehensive model of the universe created for the specific purpose of learning how to transcend it; and (4) invite participating poets and their readers to realize an enlightenment when they reach the climactic blossom verse. It includes and examines 38 complete renku as examples. An appendix provides charts for writing renku of 12, 18, 20, and 36 verses.