Haiku ‘Mala’ project update

Creating a ‘mala’ of 108 Haiku: a project to produce an audio/visual presentation of 108 Haiku, written by practitioners, to be downloaded or watched at an event with donations to the Being Peace Practice Centre project in the UK.

The mindfulness bell,
adorned with orange berries,
lifts the waiting pen.

Thank you to all who have already responded to our invitation to bring forward a mala of 108 haiku, for recording them, or having them recorded for you, and sending in related photographs for our video presentation. Thank you for these heart warming mindful moments in nature, showing your reverence for Life, the Earth, all Her beings and for Peace. 

There have been some beautiful submissions: little sleeping seeds, a watchful fox, crisp leaves, a noble raven, creaking footsteps and a tiny midge – all deeply intimate reflections on our practice of interbeing. We are extending our project into the new year and into our wider global sangha too. Please continue to send in your contributions, as we also consider creating a book of haiku for 2024. Feel free to sing your haiku if you wish and let us know if you would like someone else to read your haiku for you, and/or if you would like us to supply a related photo.

Beautifully rich,

Each haiku is a prayer bead.

Our practice is love.

For those new to haiku, these are traditional Japanese poems, usually 17 syllables in 3 lines of 5, 7 and 5, they don’t have to rhyme and can describe brief moments of nature’s impermanence in terms of time and place, mood and insight. This is a wonderful format for moving through our day in mindfulness and especially to accompany outdoor walking meditation. Our haiku will be set to background music, each haiku consisting of voice, text and photograph. Malas, 108 beads used for repetitions of prayer or chanting, representing spiritual wholeness in many traditions, can embody cycles, cosmic connections, grounding ourselves and overcoming obstacles, whilst also bringing us into the moment as each bead passes through the fingers. 

Sharing our Mindfulness is essential for our connection with ourselves, each other and the Earth. The Being Peace Practice Centre in the UK is Thây’s vision for us to nourish each other and all life, in community, in peace and happiness, even in the most difficult of times.

Donations are welcome towards the Centre, and togetherness, in awareness of our collective care for the world as ourselves, is most welcome of all.

Email your contact details, haiku, photos and recordings and any queries to:
haikumala108@gmail.com