Haiku and Deep, Deep Ecology

John McQuade

“ When human beings live in harmony with the principles of heaven and earth, then the four seasons and the elements will also work together harmoniously. Then there is no fear and human beings begin to join in, as they deserve…they begin to appreciate all this”

  Chogyam Trungpa; Shambhala: Sacred Path of the Warrior

   Classical Haiku is a direct perception expressed in a seventeen syllable “poetic” form articulated in three sections – 5 syllables, 7 syllables and 5 syllables. Classic haiku also includes a “Season Word” that situates the now moment occasion of this direct perception within the context of the whole realm of human experience including Nature, Earth and the Whole Cosmos. This is deep resonance haiku practice.

  Deep Ecology differs with many environmental engagement and reform movements in its view and practice. Its view is a deep holistic orientation rather than anthropocentric. It holds a view that humankind is one feature of an all-encompassing interdependent network of beings, environmental forms and cosmic forces.

    As a consequence it holds that there cannot only or fundamentally be a human pragmatic solution to the environmental issues of our times – and of all times - such as conservation, recycling, green technology, green politics and so forth - although these will be features of a necessary restoration of a workable balance of human activities and environmental capacities.

   However, for deep ecology, the deeper issue is to recover and restore a balance and integration with the ongoing resource of the primordial harmony of humankind with the deep ecology cosmos.

   So beyond the management of human capacities and environmental resources there also requires a re-orientation of the human view and the way of being or manifesting human society altogether. This is a humanist and spiritual transformation registered at the personal and socio-political registers. Here what is decisive to note is that this is not the creation of some future Utopia – that would be a general anthropocentric project - but the reconnection with the ongoing primordial harmony and the pragmatic ways that issue from this Way. 

    In the West there has issued this Deep Ecology view. It is mostly framed through moving from an anthropocentric view to a human holistic environmental view. It includes humanistic and spiritual transformation views and orientations but generally remains with this humanist framework of a more comprehensive understanding of the human condition. This is deep ecology.      

   Then there is deep, deep ecology. This is a deep ecology that does not begin with humankind – except as our experience, circumstances and conditions – but with the Way it Is.  It begins with our place, function and challenge within the whole harmonic structure and function of the Way it Is: Heaven, Earth and Humanity. In one manifestation this is an Eastern Spiritual View  which is associated with Daoism. It is also a teaching of the Shambhala View. (Shambhala: Sacred Path of the Warrior: Chapter 16: Sacred World).

   The Eastern traditions of Daoism and Chan Buddhism worked within this reality of deep, deep ecology. David Hinton writes:

   “China was almost three thousand years ahead of the West in this regard…      The China model is particularly relevant to our contemporary situation for a number of reasons…it is empirically based, insights coming not from belief or abstract speculation, but from close attention to the deep cosmological process and our everyday experience. And so, comports with modern scientific understanding, while adding and empirical phenomenology far more powerful and nuanced than anything found in Western culture… it is what we now call “deep ecology” meaning it weaves human consciousness into the “natural world” at the most fundamental levels”

China Root: Taoism, Chan and Original Zen

  How can one connect with this deep personal transformation of this deep, deep ecology? How can one participate in this holistic cosmological way?

   You can perceive and write a classic haiku.

    There is the perception event of classic haiku that embodies this primordial harmony. However here we focus on the form of the classic haiku. The form includes the “Season Word”. 

   Across the times of classic contemplative haiku practice the haiku Masters discerned deep features of the haiku expression – in particular with regard to the Season Word. Eventually, in Haiku presentation, the Season Word was delineated and articulated within five regions of human experience environment: Seasons, heaven/sky, earth, animals, plants, humanity and celebrations.

    This is a description of the everyday lived universe of our Heaven, Earth and Humanity ever day primordial universe and experience. It is completely infused within our everyday life experience. This profound but simple connection and expression is always completely there as available for your experience and expression and realization.

    This is deep deep ecology haiku. Which is just classic haiku.