Matsuo Bashō, the 17th-century Japanese haiku poet, didn’t directly write about Daoism. But he did dabble in Buddhism. And he traveled, one imagines, searching for the Way. He died, on November 28, 1694, on the way to the Grand Shrine in Ise, but got no further than Osaka. He was only 50.
Way beyond words, go —
All things arise from one source,
Travel and behold.
— The Dao, as One
Find your voice
Inspire others
— the Eighth Habit
Bashō no yōna, Thoughts on Matsuo Basho and habits
It is a line from Stephen R, Covey’s book The Eighth Habit, From Effectiveness to Greatness, published in 2004. Covey could have taken a page from the life of Matsuo Basho who, in searching for his voice, went from child, to page, to student, to teacher, to traveler, to Master, and student again, then finally, a Legend.
It was the last in a series of books about 7 Habits. The seven habits being: be proactive, have a plan, prioritize, think positive to win, be empathetic, i.e. learn to listen to understand, then and only then, speak, synergize from strength to strength, finally energize and synthesize, create.
More succinctly: practice, practice, practice, practice how you practice, practice with others, practice together, practice alone, practice to win.
Lake Biwa at night
plucking the shamisen
the pounding hail
— Matsuo Basho, Fall, 1684
Lake Biwa / at night, the three string shamisen / sounding (like) the sound of hail
琵琶湖の / 夜や三味線の / 音あられ
Biwakō no / yo ya shamisen no / oto arare
Did he like it?
In the first year of the Jōkyō (1684), on the journey of Nozarashi Kiko, in Ogaki, near the waters of Lake Biwa, at a gathering at Nyogyō’s house, Nyogyō was invited to play a Japanese shamisen. (Background Source: Yamanashi-ken)
(Shamisen 三味線, a three string instrument that sounds something like a banjo.)
Rocky Mountain High. From the fractured haiku collection.
I did,
I do every damn day.
Do you?
At St Mary’s Glacier, off I-70, past Idaho Springs, five miles or so up Fall River Road, at 10.000 feet and climbing. The doing is going somewhere new.
October 2025
Shigure!
be it rain or drizzle,
it’s bordering on freezing.
— Bashō no yōna, September 2025
In late autumn of the second year of Genroku, September 1690, Basho’s disciples (蕉門 shomon) gathered at an inn or tea house (亭 te) in Iga Ueno. As everyone waited for the hot tea, they shuffled their feet and rubbed their hands in the chilly inn, Basho remarked:
to everyone and even the inn,
the Autumn drizzle
is freezing人々を . しぐれよ宿は . 寒くとも
Hitobito wo . Shigureyo yado wa . Samuku tomo
— Matsuo Basho, September 1690
Note. Basho had been gone from Edo now for a year. He had completed the long journey into the northern interior (Oku no Hosomichi) in the summer of 1689. He was now spending time traveling around editing his magnum opus, which would not be published until after his death.
Haiku’d, not quite 5-7-5.
.
I know I’m not great,
Counting syllables is totally wrong,
Cause I can’t count
.
Who knew
Haiku could be
Addictive?
.
What will it take
To break
This habit?
Haiku’d, something less than 5-7-5.
.
Let’s all agree.
If you live in a shell
You can’t see what you spot
.
Oh — ladybug, ladybug
Asleep on a leaf
When do you eat?
.
The dew is still wet
The aphids will wait
Breakfast is 24-7
.
An orange shell
And black spots
That’s some defense
August 2025
On the Flatirons Trail near Boulder, Colorado where one has time to wonder.
“There are no solutions; there are only trade-offs.”
— Thomas Sowell, economic, social and political theorist
Variations on Thomas Sowell’s quote as it relates to political and economic policy making and their unpleasant unintended consequences. The solution depends upon the problem and the problems are many.
No true solutions —
Each choice gives and takes back,
Balance in all things
.
No one solution —
The Way flows like a river
Unseen ever changing
.
A true solution
Depends upon the problem
And our problems are too many
Take energy policy for example, oil and gas, coal, wind and solar, uranium, each presents its own challenges.
Like a new car with lane assist:
In all things, balance —
Straight, curving, ever changing
Sticking to the way.
Composed on the trail to the Flatirons outside Boulder, Colorado and far from the madding crowds, where one has time to think and ponder how one keeps on the path.
On Gardening
Haiku’d. A weed is often a flower out of place. A blossom is only pretty until it fades. Nature makes its own choices, and so do I.
I love to garden
But I hate to make
— Sophie’s choice
Bashō no yōna, Late Summer 2025
Haiku’d, messing with Matsuo Basho’s form (5-7-5), making up the rules. How Dao…
Some random thoughts on gardening.
If it’s true that April is the cruelest month (The Wasteland, T.S. Eliot, 1922), then August is the hottest month when gardeners struggle to water. And throughout the season the gardener knows some seeds grow, some plants thrive, some need a little help.
So do I.
A poet getting old becomes like an old dog. Not lazy just waiting for the right time.
.
Intense activity
Sandwiched in between periods of
Deep slumber
matsuo-basho-haiku 