Blue berry and bumble bee
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Three spiritual traditions have created beautiful thoughts on spirituality in the form of short poetry. One is the Zen tradition of Buddhism, known for its enigmatic haikus. The second is the Sufi mysticism of Islam under the influence of Indic thoughts. And the third is Baul tradition from India’s East (Bihar, Bengal, and Assam).
Here, the first of the two haikus was brought in by a budding poet to osho (a Zen master), Matsu Kinsuk Baso for his comments. The master was quiet for a while and then said, a poem is a creative tool. Your haiku has a violent thought. If I were inspired like you were, I would have written it like this (second haiku).
The first talks of mutilation, the second of transformation.
The first has a downward movement, the second, upward.
The first has reductionist perspective, the second, expansive.
The first summons tragic mood, the second, joyful.
The Zen master kept the same elements, but transformed the poem dramatically.
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Breaking the two wings
Of a bluish bumble bee,
What a blue berry!
If a blue berry
Were to sprout two vibrant wings,
What a bumble bee!
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Musings | 25.08.2026 | analogy, bee, berry, Zen, Haiku
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