My Haiku Practice

Authors

  • James Dwyer Center for Bioethics and Humanities, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, New York, USA

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7202/1124219ar

Keywords:

haiku, spiritual practice, mindfulness, responsiveness, ethical reflection, daily life

Language(s):

English

Abstract

I was busy. Often, I was not mindful of the present moment. Too often I was thinking ahead to the next thing on my list. So I began to write one haiku each day. I thought it might help to become more present, mindful, and responsive. In this essay, I describe my haiku practice. At first, I wanted to save my haiku and arrange them by seasons, but that didn’t work. So I arranged them in these categories: walk to work; nature and human nature; young and old; married life; modern life; computers, AI, and the Internet; academic life; medical world; pandemic life; retirement; political life; spiritual practice; death; and attitude toward death. I explain these categories by giving examples of the haiku that I wrote. I also add a short, tentative conclusion that refers back to my spiritual aims: to become more present, mindful, and responsive. My practice did help me to become more present and mindful, but I’m not sure that I’m any more responsive. I believe that to become more responsive, I will need to develop new habits — new ways of inhabiting the world. I conclude with steps that might help me to become more responsive.

References

1. Dwyer J. Haiku, spiritual exercises, and bioethics. Canadian Journal of Bioethics / Revue canadienne de bioethique. 2018;1(2):44-47.

2. Dwyer J. Frameworks and practices in bioethics. Canadian Journal of Bioethics / Revue canadienne de bioéthique. 2023;6(1):84-94.

3. Hass R. The Essential Haiku: Versions of Basho, Buson, and Issa. New York: HarperCollins; 1995.

4. Basho M. The Narrow Road to the Deep North and Other Travel Sketches, translated by Yuasa N. New York: Penguin Random House; 1967

5. Victoria B. Zen at War. 2nd edition. Lanham, MD: Roman & Littlefield; 2006.

6. Modern Haiku. Submission Guidelines and Policies.

7. Dwyer J. Why philosophers aren’t better people. Canadian Journal of Bioethics / Revue canadienne de bioéthique. 2024;7(2-3):175-79.

8. Hoffmann Y. Japanese Death Poems: Written by Zen Monks and Haiku Poets on the Verge of Death. Rutland, VT: Tuttle Publishing; 2018.

© Han Han Li

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Published

2026-03-16

How to Cite

[1]
Dwyer J. My Haiku Practice. Can. J. Bioeth 2026;9:171-85. https://doi.org/10.7202/1124219ar.

Issue

Vol. 9 No. 2 (2026): Open Issue

Section

Art, Culture & Creative Work

License

Copyright (c) 2026 James Dwyer

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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