"One of my favorite places in Kyoto is the bamboo forest in Arashiyama. The bamboo stalks are formidable in size: as large as an arm, nothing like
the skinny stalks that grow in gardens in the Pacific Northwest. A wide path cuts through the forest and leads wanderers to Buddhist temples, Shinto
shrines, moss gardens, and tea houses. The slightest breeze causes the bamboo to make their unique sound, a sound that fills your heart with an
unnameable ancient feeling akin to yearning and finding all at once—-or as the poet Ou-yang Hsiu so aptly described, 'Myriad leaves give a thousand
sounds—-all are lamentations'."
From Heaven and Earth are Flowers: Reflections on Ikebana and Buddhism
the skinny stalks that grow in gardens in the Pacific Northwest. A wide path cuts through the forest and leads wanderers to Buddhist temples, Shinto
shrines, moss gardens, and tea houses. The slightest breeze causes the bamboo to make their unique sound, a sound that fills your heart with an
unnameable ancient feeling akin to yearning and finding all at once—-or as the poet Ou-yang Hsiu so aptly described, 'Myriad leaves give a thousand
sounds—-all are lamentations'."
From Heaven and Earth are Flowers: Reflections on Ikebana and Buddhism
| Image from Heaven and Earth are Flowers |
| Ikebana and author photo by Derk Jager. All images and text are copyright protected - © 2010. |
 | |  | |  | |  | |  |
In the early '90s when Joan lived in Japan, she became keenly interested in Buddhism and
traditional Japanese arts, particularly ikebana. Upon her return to the States, she studied and
practiced Zen and Tibetan Buddhism, and began ikebana instruction under the direction of Mary
Hiroko Shigaya. After twelve years of study, Joan received Shihan (formal authorization to
teach) from the Saga School of Ikebana headquartered in Kyoto, Japan.
"The Way of Flowers," Joan's first personal essay on ikebana and Buddhism, appeared in
Chrysalis Reader and Tricycle: The Buddhist Review; it was subsequently published by Utne
Reader and chosen for Best Spiritual Writing - 2001. Other work has appeared in Weber
Journal, The San Francisco Examiner, Oregonian, and Seattle P-I.
Joan received a Nautilus Book Award in 2011 for Heaven and Earth are Flowers. She holds an
M.F.A. in writing and literature from Bennington College and a B.A. in art from The Evergreen
State College. She currently lives on Orcas Island where she continues her artistic and spiritual
practices.
traditional Japanese arts, particularly ikebana. Upon her return to the States, she studied and
practiced Zen and Tibetan Buddhism, and began ikebana instruction under the direction of Mary
Hiroko Shigaya. After twelve years of study, Joan received Shihan (formal authorization to
teach) from the Saga School of Ikebana headquartered in Kyoto, Japan.
"The Way of Flowers," Joan's first personal essay on ikebana and Buddhism, appeared in
Chrysalis Reader and Tricycle: The Buddhist Review; it was subsequently published by Utne
Reader and chosen for Best Spiritual Writing - 2001. Other work has appeared in Weber
Journal, The San Francisco Examiner, Oregonian, and Seattle P-I.
Joan received a Nautilus Book Award in 2011 for Heaven and Earth are Flowers. She holds an
M.F.A. in writing and literature from Bennington College and a B.A. in art from The Evergreen
State College. She currently lives on Orcas Island where she continues her artistic and spiritual
practices.
| I wrote Heaven and Earth are Flowers to highlight the spiritual dimension of working with and appreciating plants and flowers, and to inspire the reader to look at nature with a renewed sense of poetic wonder. - Joan D. Stamm |