From its origin in the rich ambiance of the imperial court in Nara, renku spread over the succeeding centuries to become a popular group activity for merchants, samurai, and, most significantly, Buddhist priests—coming to possess an elaborate set of rules but always retaining the obligatory "love verses."
Love plays an intrinsic role in renku because it represents an important part of human life: a necessary part of the Mandala of All Creation that the Buddhist shapers of the form chose as a template to guide its composition. Their goal was to create a poetic ritual by which participants would come to realize the unreality of all selves and of all objects of selfish desire. In their imaginary journey through a universe of attachments, human love in all its aspects poses a special challenge to Buddhists en route to enlightenment. The love verses in renku serve to free minds from a world of attachments by first plunging those minds deeply into that world.
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