Blossoms in Renku

The penultimate verse of a renku features blossoms, but why? Blossoms, especially spring blossoms, and, of those, especially cherry blossoms, epitomize the beauty of the universe and the transience of that beauty. In fact, the cherry blossoms at their peak move us, as the Japanese hermit-poet Kenkô once wrote, only because they are temporary. For the Buddhist designers of the renku ritual, blossoms serve as a fitting trigger for minds to let go of the petty desires of ego-gratification, let go of this glorious, ephemeral universe...and enter nirvana

Does this mean that every time you participate in a renku you'll achieve enlightenment or even realize that you are taking part in a Buddhist ritual? No and no. But if you write a renku with friends, explore the universe together with them, and arrive together at a conclusion of delicate beauty and a feeling of profound peace, who cares what you call or how you label that experience? The hours you will have spent together in this brief life writing a poem that no single individual could ever write, will be hours well spent.

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