1) Basho resides for a time in The Hut of the Phantom Dwelling, where
he writes his essay of the same name. Reflect on how
not only the hut, but also the poems Basho writes, the body in which
he lives, his very existence, the Buddha whom he
venerates and the earth itself might also be termed phantom dwellings.
Use some citations from Basho's essay to bolster your
points.
2) "Dreaming" and "being at leisure" are of great significance at The
House of Fallen Persimmons. Explore how these
(in)activities provoke Basho's reflections on the meaning of his life.
3) The diary ends with the following haiku:
Fifth month rain--
poems pasted to the wall, peeled off
leave traces.
Interpret this haiku in light of Basho's experiences at The House of Fallen Persimmons.
4) Explore the different manners in which people are suffering in Issa's
world, as his father dies. How does Issa react to that
suffering?
5) Reflect on the following passage by writing a haiku in response to it: "I haven't a thing to my name and am drifting like foam on the water, blowing along with the wind like a speck of dust. Yet this string of beads that is my life is difficult to snap.
Left behind
and drenched as the grass
with drops of dew."
6) According to Issa, in what manner is his daughter Sato blessed by
Buddha? How does she reveal the earthliness of the
earth in her awareness of the world? Do you think Issa is right to
have claimed his daughter's blessedness, in light of her
eventual death?
7) Issa's experience of his daughter's death leads him to write the following, much quoted haiku about earthly existence:
The world of dew
is a world of dew.
And yet, and yet--
How might the earth be "a world of dew"? Is the earth the same as the
world? What does the repetition of "and yet, and yet"
suggest to you?
8) Pick one of the aphorisms from this collection and explain how it might help one to understand a particular haiku, or journal passage from Basho or Issa.
9) Contrast and compare one aspect of how Basho and Issa view or react
to earthly existence. Of the two, whose poetry do
you favor at the moment and why?