Bugbee (1958) ‘we stand beyond the border of knowledge, beyond, without a doubt, where we were. Only in doing so do we find ourselves where we always been, within all creation, in a true wilderness’ (4). Basho (1644-1694) ‘First snow falling on half-finished bridge’ (1).
These words are extracts from Henry Bugbee’s 1958 book of philosophy ‘The inward morning ’and Basho Matsuo’s poem ‘The Narrow Road of the interior/ haiku selection’ (Green 1). The two extracts provide the thesis for this paper where the poet Basho and the philosopher Bugbee use nature to show the difficult journeyman has to go through to realize self-awareness and development. Both pieces of literature depict the themes of journey and wilderness, and for this reason, this research shall carry out an analysis of the two genres of writing and make a comparison.
‘The inward morning’ presents the idea of wilderness through an unusual philosophical burden taken by Bugbee. The book trades on two varied senses of wilderness which are related but not identical (Hamill 10). One on hand, the writer appeals to the sense of wilderness which reverberates with the popular value of northern America’s western frontier. This presents a reader with a familiar setting they can associate with. On the other hand, the writer capitalizes on the wilderness which speaks clearly as eastern awareness and provenance (Conway 259). Therefore the use of wilderness in this manner offers the reader a reality that creates profound mystery and which calls to a life journey.
This research selects Basho’s English translation of Haiku, in ‘Narrow road of the interior’. This genre of writing is very important to history for Basho’s poems offer a new style and genre to writing poems. Despite the varied translations of his poems and the different versions of ‘narrow road’ Basho’s poems still hold the theme of nature, human journey as they seek knowledge of nature and how they fit into the world. The poem or Haiku ‘narrow road’ follows his main theme where the poet makes use of natural elements like snow as an image or symbol (Green 1). For the extract taken from his haiku, the image created represents more than snow which has covered an incomplete bridge. The poet is trying to convey the message that a person who has not completed their journey of life begins to see nature and grow white hair.
Both writers are seeking to use nature by guiding their hearts towards finding a balance of mind and heart. For this reason, Bugbee writes his book in the open spaces of wilderness through the utilization of figurative and literal themes (Conway 260). Meanwhile, Basho makes use of the theme of wilderness or nature by taking the same approach as monks and poets did before and during his time (Green 1). By making use of his travels or journeys, Basho gains the freedom to write from experience with nature and his interaction with people of different cultures. The author makes use of his experience with the natural world to get inspiration about things that moved him like the snow and the bridge. Through his accurate representation of nature, Basho managed to reshape haiku expression. To achieve this Basho wrote through short prose pieces on journeys with a touch of haiku. It is this style of writing that combines haiku and prose creates habits as reflected in ‘narrow road to the interior’ (Green 1). The combination of prose and haiku can be seen in the following extract ‘monks at the bottom of the mountain… temple doors, built on rocks … I crawled among boulders to make my bows at the shrines’ (Green 1).
The same spirit of creating imagery and theme which connects humans to nature and the desire to have a man get to know nature more is depicted in Basho’s poem. Basho wonders through nature as he contemplates the different philosophical aspects of nature and wilderness. This same wondering factor is seen in Bugbee who travels in his heart and mind and participates in his private philosophy as he becomes a witness of his product and process. It is through his book that we find the difficult journey humans have to go through to achieve personal development and realization. The extract ‘it is a sobering experience … one’s own beliefs’ (Conway 261). Bugbee like Basho makes use of the background of nature to reflect the difficult journey humans have to go through to attain personal growth. This is statement gives support to the opening statement given as the thesis for this paper for Bugbee makes use of wilderness to show that man’s journey to self-discovery is found in his exploration of his natural world (Hamill 5).
Nature has been used effectively by both as a rich backdrop for their genre of writing as they use everyday elements in nature to gain inspiration that fuels their minds to reach an awareness of their environments. Like Basho, Bugbee also uses prose as he describes the natural settings of wildernesses found in his philosophical book. The journey of heart and mind are also taken by Basho, as he uses nature to get into the spirit of things by gaining an insight into the relationship between those on the natural surface and at the core (Green 1). However, this core of things is not deep but rather the essence of things as they are presented in nature. Basho’s explanation of the snow and half-completed bridge, tells the story of natural temporary things, whereas humans must consider our journey of life before we gain white hair or get old. Basho wants the reader to get beyond attachment to temporal things and get a full experience of our present lives at the moment. For Basho, the travels through nature are about the journey we take on the highway of life.
Both genres of work are representations of the author’s deep philosophical beliefs. Basho follows a rich Buddhists background, where philosophy is based on nature as being fully independent. For this reason, his poem ‘narrow road’ reflects a communion with nature as he lives at the heart of it to present to readers a sense of interconnectedness. Basho evokes strong juxtaposed images of this natural world as he reaches to readers by striking at their hearts and souls (Green 1). This same factor is utilized by Bugbee who philosophy on wilderness creates a reality in the reader that leaves a deep mystery that calls one to achieve personal development and awareness (Conway 259).
In conclusion, Basho’s poem and Bugbee’s book provide a rich experience in philosophical writings that explore and unravel mysteries of the natural world and those of the writer. By using imagery of scenes, the writers evoke feelings of self-awareness at the present moment through an exploration of familiar wilderness and natural things.
Works Cited
Conway, Daniel W. “The wilderness of Henry Bugbee.” The Journal of speculative Philosophy 17.4 (2003): 259-269.
Green, Kevin. Basho, The Narrow Road of the Interior/Selected Haiku. (2011). Web.
Hamill Sam. Basho Matsuo’s Narrow Road to the Interior: and Other Writings. California, U.S.: Shambhala Classics, 2000.