This is a picture from a 1964 book about Japanese Haiku. We flipped through it, it has black and white illustrations. This one shows a drawing of the ear-ringed transmitter of Zen, whom we take to be Bodhidharma. He was from India, had the characteristic long earlobes of an arhat, due to his earlobes being stretched. His heavy beard and hairy chest are part of his Indian heritage. He was and continues to be a culture-hero of Buddhists in both China and Japan, since it is held he carried the tradition of intense meditation from India north into China.

We like the Haiku, they are relaxing to read. This particular hardcover book was written with children in mind, they have a simpler flavor, not so deep philosophically as the standard haiku, but that is because this translation was a selection, not that the author simplified the haiku themselves. For example this illustration is used with a plaintive haiku about a lost canary, something children can relate to by Shiki:


 The title of the book is "Cricket Songs" by Harry Behm. You can click on the picture of the book to purchase the book on our website.