Eco-Haiku: Vanity Kills Bliss

Vanity kills Bliss same as Climate Change threatens Moss

Many love Haiku poetry and have a sensitive heart for Japanese Zen gardens, but little I knew that Moss is an essential feature of these two meditative art forms (Nature and poetry based).

“Why Moss?!” one would ask rhetorically. See/enjoy for yourself:

“Hills are empty, no man is seen,
Yet the sound of people’s voices is heard.
Light is cast into the deep forest,
And shines again on green moss.”

by Wang Wei (699-759, written in 730)


Same one that wondered about Moss, if only wandering few steps further into this unique realm of perception, would acknowledge that Japan always was tuned to the power expressed in delicate fine lines, exquisite shadows or brief words that succeed to reveal rich layers of messages and emotionally striking images.

This article was triggered by the Sahaj quotes in white (Haiku like) that had such a lasting impression when reading them, that I’ve felt compelled to share  and reveal the subtle connection (Beauty) that binds Sahaja Yoga Meditation and Zen.

Zen taught that to people. They saw Bliss in seeing only a Moss, a little bit of moss. And you see the moss and say ” Oh God, what a beautiful piece it is!” God has created a little moss and that moss has all the little, little tentacles and that bliss.”  (**1)

And this goes deeper, into the distinction between Confidence and Vanity, between a quality – Confidence –  of the centre heart chakra and an Ego induced defectVanity – that is actually closing our heart (Anahat) energy centre.

“But those who are vain people can never feel bliss. Vanity kills bliss. Ego kills bliss. Bliss comes to you through your Confidence in yourself. If you have no confidence in yourself, bliss cannot be. And the worst thing against Confidence is [to say,] ‘What should I do? Then how can I get it? Then why do I not have it?’ It’s the worst thing. You are fighting yourself all the time. You are that, sitting on that and still if you are saying, ‘Why shouldn’t I have it?!’ So what to answer? I mean you just want to ask… It’s there. Why are you asking? Just feel it.” (**1)

Now, let’s enjoy once more the oneness between Zen perception and Sahaj wisdom, recognizing the old Zen roots for this tiny though perennial Moss symbol:

sky-and-moss-one-in-burlingtn cloud-poppy
“Moss

in the garden
and the blue

of the Sky —
both becoming one;
blossoms
opening to rise
into white clouds
of spring.”

(“Unforgotten Dreams”, Poems by Zen Monk Shotetsu – translated by Steven D. Carter, is the first major compendium of Shotetsu’s medieval poetry translated into the English language – a collection of 200 poems (he wrote over 40,000 during his lifetime)

“If that works out, that you feel where you are sitting, then you will be surprised that you are at Peace with yourself and there is Bliss.” (**1)

“In Japan, Zen system started on these lines and Bodhidharma was the person who started it. He made a garden out of moss, different moss, very small, small. There were little, little flowers also. And hardly about five feet of the garden, which looks like the shape of a question mark, you can say. You have to go on a lift and you reach that platform on top of a hill or a mountain where you see this.

All little, little mosses are there and you see differently arranged a beautiful garden. When you start seeing it your thought stops. Because such a marvelous thing, when you put attention to it, to its creation, your thoughts stop. 

So you must practice as to find out what stops your thoughts. What makes you the witness? Once you develop this habit you will station yourself nicely in the Thoughtless Awareness.  (**2)

All  (**) quotes belong to Shri Mataji – founder of this spontaneous and free meditation system – and were extracted from:  (**1) Talk  on Culture of Sahaja Yoga-1985 and (**2) Talk on the Spirit/Lord Shiva – 1996, Sydney.

Both Zen and Sahaja Yoga Meditation are about Present (moment). Nowadays in this industrial era, our collective ego (vanity) is able to trigger or at least encourage some serious climate changes that are affecting our individual and our collective /planetary Present. The Eco system is systematically bullied by our egoistical actions. Such as creating industries based on greed that produce unstoppable pollution. Sahaja Yogis enabled Japan Projects, annually touring Japan and working on reaching out to many different organizations in Tokyo and Kyoto where they can offer inner peace/meditation/self-realization programs. They were very successful and in 2014 they had even reached Fukushima, spreading some much needed positive vibrations – cool and smooth, like the morning dew drops tip-toeing the moss.

The article “Climate change threat to Japanese Zen gardens” from “The Times” is interesting and totally tuned to the theme of our article.

canajoharie-landscape-1

Hope that  this Zen-Sahaj journey will inspire your feedback, maybe even some Haiku verses, like:

“…. I love to look at the crystal clear landscape,
It helps me sustain an empty and clear mind.
On the flat moss, I can sit in stable meditation,
As the wind whips its way deep into the woods…. “

from “Living in Seclusion in The Nanyue Mountains”  by Xingche (~ 1606) translated by Beata Grant

Somehow they felt perfect for a Meditative closure to our Zen reflection..

Moss garden -source wikipedia

Recommended Articles for Your Well-Being:

Your Heart Matters – Do you have King Leo’s Heart Chakra or Romeo’s?

Who is Lord Shiva – Mythology, Diagram with Symbols, Example of Meditation for Heart

Advice from The Womb that nourishes Our Trees and Oceans – Pearls of Eternal Existence

This Post Has 14 Comments

  1. joanne

    Such a poetic and soothing piece! thank you~

  2. Shashidhar Rao

    Mother Nature has provided all that is needed to empty us of the cacophony of thoughts and connect us to the essence of all creation. No wonder that the ancient sages preferred to retreat to secluded ‘shangrilas’!

    Beautiful article…

  3. Claudia

    Nurturing
    Admiration
    True self
    Unifying
    Resciliant
    Energy

    I wish for us all to enjoy nature today.

  4. Robert Harrison O'Carroll

    Vanity Trangresses:

    Mist nurtures,
    While Dew caresses.

    Moss endures,
    Confidence simply Blesses.

    Wonderful to hear from Halton Sahaja Yogis!
    Coming from a Hop, and a Skip across the Pond.

  5. adrian kraayeveld

    Vanity is doubt
    It masks our confidence
    Which already exists
    It is so simple
    Just let doubt go

  6. Ioana

    Thank you all for your replies.. thank you for sharing beautiful Haiku.. let’s keep flowing our dialogue over this lovely website .. many thanks to those that felt to be part of our Halton sahaj family even from far away like Germany, Nepal and so on.. Hope to hear from you soon!!
    Check up the Testimonials & Articles .. more to come.

  7. paula erskine

    Beautiful poems and quotes! It really puts you in that moment of stillness. I am beginning to realize that these moments where I am in nature, in stillness, are exactly the source of bliss. The simplest evidence of nature, if we pay attention, can be a great source of pleasure.

  8. Colleen Burgess

    Thank you for this, it is such a beautiful day today, this makes me want to go outside and walk in the grass in my bare feet and share in the bliss of nature. Thank you.

  9. Paula

    Loving the shared poems in the comments as well, the article is so rich, so profound. Alot has happened since my early beginnings with meditation. Deep like an ocean is Sahaja Yoga…so much more to discover and enjoy. So grateful for this life transforming meditation
    .

  10. Diana

    Frumos! Mul?umesc, draga Ioana

  11. Jolanta

    Great article and photographs highlighting the difference between confidence and ego, and how the latter often leads to harming nature.

  12. Colleen

    Beautiful. Nature is God in the physical. That’s why we feel so much Peace when we immerse ourselves in the beauty of anything that’s pure nature. Love it. Thank you.

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