Integral Education: The CIIS Blog

The Pleasures of Tanka Poetry

By ZACK ROGOW, senior editor at CIIS. His writings include a recent book of poems, "My Mother and the Ceiling Dancers," from Kattywompus Press. 

Many know about haiku, that ultra-short form of poetry from Japan that captures a flash of consciousness in only three lines. But a thousand years before haiku came along, Japanese poets developed the tanka form. Tanka is slightly longer—five lines—but it’s significantly different from haiku in the type of moment that sparks it.

Here’s one of my favorite tanka poems, by the great Japanese woman poet Yosano Akiko, who lived from 1878 to 1942 and wrote over 40,000 poems:

if not for women

writhing like vengeful demons

screaming like wild boars

no child of man

would ever be born

(adapted from the translation of Makoto Ueda)

Like haiku, which crystallizes one specific moment in time or consciousness, tanka is about a particular observation of the poet. But unlike haiku, tanka can reach both backwards and forwards in time to include a broader observation, or even a story. How can just five short lines of poetry tell a story? It’s not easy, but with the conciseness of tanka, a poet finds the fulcrum of a story, the moment of truth in that encounter. Here’s another poem by Yosano Akiko from her groundbreaking series of tanka called Tangled Hair about a love affair:

Early evening moon

Over the flowering field,

I felt somehow

He was waiting for me

And I came.

(translated by Sanford Goldstein and Seishi Shinoda)

Here the poet describes the moment when she made her choice to embark on a difficult relationship. The image of the evening moon suggests the expectant lover, wishing for her. The flowering field makes me think of the fullness of her love.

I haven’t said anything yet about the rigorous form of the tanka. Each of the five lines must have a specific number of syllables. The order is: 5-7-5-7-7. I haven’t mentioned this because it works beautifully in Japanese, but when English-language translators or poets attempt to duplicate the form exactly, it often takes away from the freshness and the gentle punch of the tanka. Personally, I prefer poems that just follow the spirit of the tanka and don’t count syllables like coins.

Another fascinating side of the tanka is that the poet often sharply splits the five lines between two seemingly unrelated images. The writer does not directly link these two worlds, but leaves it entirely up to the reader to make the connection. Yosano Akiko does this in the poem just mentioned about the evening field and the lover’s impulse. Here’s another example, a thousand-year-old tanka by the 10th century poet Fujiwara no Toshiyuki:

in the Bay of Sumi

waves crowd the shore

even at night

by the corridors of dreams

I come to you secretly

(adapted from the translation of Kenneth Rexroth)

The poet never says that the waves are like him, the lover. He never directly mentions that the shore is a metaphor for his beloved. It’s all just understood. That’s what I love about it! And the fact that the waves are not simply approaching the shore, they are crowding it. It is a little invasive to tell your beloved that you can visit her at night, even when she’s dreaming. The poem acknowledges that, in the midst of a wonderfully romantic moment.

Here are some of my favorite collections of tanka poetry if you’d like to read more:

Kenneth Rexroth, One Hundred Poems from the Japanese

Makoto Ueda, Modern Japanese Tanka

Yosano Akiko, Tangled Hair: Selected Poems from Midaregami

 

My Mission: Ethnographic Study of Bhutan’s Health System

Part 4 in a series of live blogs from Bhutan by Meg Jordan, Professor and Chair of the Integrative Health Studies Department

Time to dive into my mission here: ethnographic study of Bhutan's health system, its translation of Gross National Happiness principles into health outcomes, and an exploration of how well medical pluralism thrives.

First stop: traditional Asian medicine physician, Dr. Mindu Gorji, where I had my pulses read and my tongue analyzed. I did, however, skip out on the blood letting and swallowing of some rather questionable looking precious gem herbs rolled in dirt from a high-arsenic soil territory.

I met with the Director of Public Health, Health Ministry—his dedication to equity, access, and quality was admirable. His responsibilities cover administration of a multilayered distribution of health programs from the National Hospital through grassroots Community Health Workers. Then I visited their national hospital and was amazed at the amount of work done with limited resources.  

I also spent time with native healers both inside the formal Institute of Traditional Medicine and outside the system. Medical pluralism is alive and well here, and a means of referral back and forth between native healing and allopathic medicine manages to succeed, surprisingly, in the rural areas better than in the larger cities. 

Tonight is my last night in Bhutan. I'll fondly hold the land of the thunder dragons in my heart forever. I'll miss the countryside most with the towering rhododendron and magnolia trees, yak herds, and terraced rice fields, and the easy smiles of these warm and gracious people.

I can't wait to take you back here with Alumni Director Richard Buggs. Save your Nu.

In Bhutan I Wander, As Do My Thoughts

Part 3 in a series of live blogs from Bhutan by Meg Jordan, Professor and Chair of the Integrative Health Studies Department

When we return to Bhutan next year, we must try to come during a festival or two. Otherwise, the endless stream of quiet, solemn, monasteries start to merge in your mind.

I've lost my sense of time, days, and I'm no longer introducing myself through my bio. I'm just wandering now, sitting with children and shopkeepers, trying to understand what I'm witnessing. I pray in clockwise circles around temples, following lay-monks and nuns, in the center of Thimphu, while hundreds of working class Indians build bamboo scaffolding around yet another concrete apartment building.

How does Christianity fare in this all-Buddhist kingdom? As an overlay on a cultural backdrop of belief in demons, hungry ghosts and well...you decide.

This week a 46-year-old mother of five was beaten to death and hanged as a witch by a gang of Christian converts in a village called Dumtoe Gewog, aided by two pastors and her husband. No one has a comment. She must have had some very bad karma, says my interpreter.

Other news: Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche will translate for the first time the entire Buddhist canon, including 108 volumes of Kangyur, Buddha's direct teachings. Widespread celebration greets that announcement, especially in the official newspaper, which reports everything with the words, "graciously applauded" or "generously granted” by the King or the government.

I'm off to breakfast: one brown egg and chilies. Wish you were here more than ever. I need a CIIS colleague to sort this all out.

Obama’s Leadership: Beyond Tough Guy Posturing

By Alfonso Montuori, Professor and Chair of the Transformative Inquiry Department 

In a recent Newsweek article, Howard Fineman points to the “establishment’s” emerging doubts about Barack Obama’s leadership style.

The argument is that Obama—who is, after all, a surfer—seems too mellow and judicious.

According to Fineman: “A genial, amenable guy, he likes to appeal to every constituency, or at least not write off any.” Obama, Fineman continues, doesn’t have what the establishment considers to be “a central trait of the president's character: he's not really an in-your-face guy.”

No wonder the establishment is having its doubts about Obama—clearly he’s not one of them. A moment’s thought tells us that the establishment is the source of our present predicament. It is bankrupt both morally and practically, and given its dismal record it is certainly not in a position to tell us what qualities a leader should have. Remember, George W. Bush was an in-your-face-guy.

In times of trouble, we know the establishment will call for what they believe worked in previous times. It’s to be expected, then, that pundits within the crumbling establishment think the president should follow a well-worn tough-guy style of leadership.

But the present situation calls for an entirely different kind of leadership. Obama was elected in large part because he pledged to change the political tone in Washington.  Any expectation of Obama using the brand of black-and-white, my-way-or-the-highway style of leadership that got us into this trouble in the first place is misplaced.

The reality is that what’s troubling the establishment is not so much what Obama is actually doing or not doing. It’s that he doesn’t look like the traditional savior-leader. He is too intellectual.

Fineman writes that Obama is “a busy, industrious overachiever,” and that, “he likes to check off boxes on a long to-do list. A beau ideal of Harvard Law, he can't wait to tackle extra-credit answers on the exam.”

What Fineman and the establishment want is this: “a blunt-spoken coach.” Rather than being so damn smart, perhaps Obama should just yell “bring ‘em on,” and make sure to have a “Mission Accomplished” banner waiting backstage.

Obama’s task is a complex and precarious one. It is not one that will benefit from macho posturing. The fact that he “likes to appeal to every constituency” is part of a larger effort to 1) bring all the voices that should be heard to the table and 2) ensure substantive contributions from all sectors of society.

Unlike his predecessor, Obama’s administration does not want to function as a closed system mired in groupthink and a go-it-alone attitude, a convict of the alleged courage of its own convictions. This means more reflection, dialogue, exploration, inquiry, and no snap judgments about “evil-doers.”

Obama’s form of leadership is counterintuitive for the establishment, who are looking for Coach John Wayne to knock this country into shape. It recognizes the difficulty of our predicament. It knows the days of cowboy swagger are over. We are now in an age of complexity and transformation—we need a president who, instead of relying on simplistic solutions, acknowledges this reality.

Even in Bhutan, There’s No Stopping Cultural Change

Part 2 in a series of live blogs from Bhutan by Meg Jordan, Professor and Chair of the Integrative Health Studies Department

Last night was my first attempt to sleep in the land of the thunder dragon, which could have easily been named land of the incessant barking dogs instead.  Earplugs did no good; but I'm still thrilled to be here.

Today I hiked up toward the famous Tiger's Nest monastery, which looks like it was thrown against a cliff at 10,000 feet or so. It was founded by Guru Rinpoche in 796 AD when, legend has it, he flew in on a tiger's back and meditated there, conquering the local demons and convincing them to protect the spread of Buddhism instead of troubling the local villagers. Quite the diplomat. The monastery was completed sometime in the 17th century.

My interpreter, Pema, complained of chest pain all the way to the Tea House (about half-way to the monastary). I played doctor-nurse, and made sure we weren't aggravating a medical condition that was either exertional angina or a hiatal hernia. Bhutan "belly" is growing more prominent with increasing prosperity. His pain resided when we stopped the hike. I'm taking him to the one hospital in Thimpu (built around 1960) for an EKG.

Now we're back in Paro at the only Internet cafe in western Bhutan, where I'm surrounded by a small crowd of curious onlookers, who want to know about online dating sites in the U.S. Talk about a dilemma. The anthropologist in me is delighted to be in a country with such a fierce commitment to preserving cultural integrity, and yet there's no stopping cultural change—it's a dynamic force.

So, I let them know about a free site, plentyoffish.com, and three young Bhutanese men are posting photos and bios within seconds. "Come here, Meggy! Look at this—I got a response already from Nadia in Tuck-Son!"

Happiness—how do we measure it?  That will be my question to the Health Minister on Monday.  Until then; photos to come.   

Blogging from Bhutan

Part 1 in a series of live blogs from Bhutan by Meg Jordan, Professor and Chair of the Integrative Health Studies Department

Greetings from Bhutan, the land of thunder dragons, the isolated Himalayan kingdom whose Gross National Happiness directive has intrigued the world. Wish you were here.

I am on a preliminary fact-finding, happiness-seeking ethnographic field study for the next two weeks. I hope to return to Bhutan next March with Dr. Richard Buggs—and at least 15 or 20 of you hardy, respectful, Buddhist-appreciating, eco-supportive adventurers—on an official CIIS trip.

Right now I'm delirious with fatigue, so I don't expect this entry to be comprehensible. I've been assigned an interpreter on this solo journey, and I think I spot Namgay waving at me right now. Gotta run... He promised me a bowl of red-hot chilies first thing in the morning. Time to be an open-minded anthropologist.

Contact mjordan@ciis.edu or rbuggs@ciis.edu if you're interested in joining us in Bhutan next spring.

We Need Health Coaches!

By Meg Jordan, Professor and Chair of the Integrative Health Studies Department

IHL faculty member Julia Zarcone joined me last month for the Institute of Medicine’s summit on integrative medicine in Washington, D.C.—and it was an historic event. Over 500 of the nation’s leading doctors, authors, and allied health professionals assembled to feed facts and narratives to key testifying figures: Oz, Ornish, Weil and Hyman, the big names of integrative medicine.

The consensus: We need to transform health behavior in this nation, or the entire sick care industry could follow on the heels of the economic collapse. The words "We need health coaches" were spoken 38 times from the lectern. CIIS could not be better poised, since our IHL M.A. offers the leading integrative wellness coaching and program design curriculum in the nation.

Leadership, Hope, and Creativity

By Alfonso Montuori, Professor and Chair of the Transformative Inquiry Department 

A cursory look at leadership literature will show a field with a wide range of perspectives, from The Leadership Lessons of Jesus to Leadership Secrets of Attila the Hun. Within academic literature there is an extensive body of research and a general agreement to disagree.

We in the Transformative Leadership program at CIIS think that, because the field of leadership is wide open, it provides us with a wonderful opportunity. In these uncertain and complex times, it’s no surprise that what constitutes leadership is up for grabs; the who, what, where, why and how of leadership are all being questioned and redefined, and it’s about time.

Many of the individuals who join the Transformative Leadership program haven’t always thought of themselves as leaders.  They didn’t necessarily grow up dreaming of becoming presidents, CEOs, or anything like that. Some believe passionately that they must make a contribution to a particular issue—such as the environment, education, social justice, or the private sector. Others are transitioning into a new life, leaving established careers behind. Now they are moved to explore something new, something that reflects the passion, commitment, and participation in the complex challenges facing all of us.

Along with the ability to lead and create positive change in the world, the Transformative Leadership program offers students an opportunity for self-creation. Students don’t simply read about leadership research and different leadership theories. They draw on their experience, their context, as well as the research, so that they themselves can answer the who, what, where, why and how of leadership. The program gives them the opportunity and the resources to create the leader they want to be. It also asks them go out into the world for their action capstone, to make a difference in a way that reflects their passion, values and goals—and to test their leadership mettle.

Our students are moved by their passion, their hope for a better world, and their desire to make a contribution. The election of President Barack Obama on a mandate of hope is therefore tremendously symbolic. In his inaugural address, President Obama pointed out that 60 years earlier, his black father would not have been allowed to eat in some restaurants in Washington. Obama’s win surprised many, not least civil rights advocates who could not have hoped 40 or even 20 years earlier that an African-American man would become president of the United States in their lifetime.

Now that we have broken down some of the assumptions about who can lead the country, we have to ask ourselves, what can we hope for the U.S. and for the world? It’s obviously not enough to talk about exit strategies, whether from the war in Iraq, or from the economic and environmental crises. This is why in his inaugural speech the president also argued for a new era of responsibility. The U.S., and indeed humanity as a whole, he said, should leave “childish things” behind. The clear message is that the world is in a tremendous period of transition; that this transition is not going to be an easy one, and that we should leave childish selfishness, greed, and ambition to dominate others behind.

But implicit in the mandate for change and hope and the president’s call for responsibility is the need for creativity. Creativity is needed now because all the indications are that an old world is dying but a new one is yet to be born. Can we transition into a new and better world? If, following the president’s biblical imagery, we leave childish things behind can we create a more mature, generous, wise world?

Creativity can bring us visions of better worlds. Creative individuals, groups, and communities can turn these visions into realities. New ways of working together towards common goals can draw on the creativity that is recognized all over the world as central to the American spirit. Creativity will also give us a new understanding of the American dream, and of what human beings can be and achieve.

In the Transformative Leadership program we acknowledge the audacity of hope. And we invite the leaders of the future to accept their responsibility for the world to come, and embrace the passion and commitment of creativity. 

Finding Your Inner Compass

By Sarah Stone, Professor in the Writing and Consciousness Program

We live in a noisy culture -- deliciously, horribly, overwhelmingly, fascinatingly noisy. The kind of work we do as writers and artists both arises from our lives and has to resist those circumstances, in order to happen at all. How is it possible to write poetry or fiction, to create a performance, to make a song, painting, sculpture, or collage? All day long, our email dings, our friends invite us to Facebook parties and causes, and the newsstand and TV push an image of “success” that has to do with maximum visibility and popularity, a version of junior high gone wild.

I talk all the time to writers and artists who reach the end of their day without having managed to do much, if any, of their real work. Furthermore, in the midst of all the noise, it can be hard to name for ourselves what exactly that work is, what makes it valuable (to us or others), why we do it.

Fortunately, there are solutions. For me, it's about making commitments to people whose opinions I value, and about having the structure, support, and sense of discovery that comes from community. This helps us to develop productive work habits and to keep to them even when something else seems more enticing or the work is difficult. Knowing this answers for me that perennial question: how do you choose an MFA program? A good MFA program will teach art, craft, literature or art/performance history (and related studies -- critical theory, consciousness, creative inquiry), and ways of navigating the professional world. Just as important, though, a strong MFA program will build community and trust, cooperation rather than competition, as students learn how to name their own artistic lineages, develop strong work habits, and find their ability to make their own particular art, not conforming to anyone else’s aesthetic, but making work that’s unique in the world.

Here are two of my favorite quotes on the thorny questions of talent and habit, because regular, habitual work is one of the surest ways of keeping our inner compass on track: 

First forget inspiration. Habit is more dependable. Habit will sustain you whether you’re inspired or not. Habit will help you finish and polish your stories. Inspiration won’t. Habit is persistence in practice.

Forget talent. If you have it, fine. Use it. If you don’t have it, it doesn’t matter. As habit is more dependable than inspiration, continued learning is more dependable than talent.

-Octavia Butler

Marilyn Monroe once said, “I wasn’t the prettiest. I wasn’t the most talented. I simply wanted it more than anyone else.” And I sometimes think that I’m just one of the people who comes here every day and does it, even though I don’t feel like it, even though it’s difficult and I feel stupid and brain-dead and unequal to the task. I have days that are complete losses. It’s awful. I just sit and stare at the screen and nothing happens; hours go by and I write down a line and delete it, then write down another line and save it to delete tomorrow. And that’s it. That was the writing day. It happens, with a degree of frequency...I have known writers over the years, enormously talented, who are so self-conscious about it, who are so terrified of ever writing a bad sentence, that they can’t write anything at all. I think a certain fearlessness in the face of your own ineptitude is a useful tool. 

-Michael Cunningham

Reflections on Leadership

By Urusa Fahim, Transformative Leadership Program Faculty Member

The U.S. election is over and the new (and improved!) president is in office. Among the many things President Barack Obama brought to the surface for everyday Americans, the concept of leadership is rather high on the list. Not only has he changed the look of leadership and what it means to be a leader, but he has also challenged the traditional and outdated ideas about leadership. His story has inspired many and provided an opportunity to rethink leadership and the attributes a leader needs or success in the 21st century.

What exactly is leadership? Who is a leader? Who can be a leader? What qualifications does a leader need? What does a leader do? And, of course, what does a leader look like? These are some of ­­the questions that are coming up in conversations with my students and result in rich discussions and learning.

There is no one single way to be a leader. Leaders come in many shapes and forms. Not all of us who strive for leadership positions can become presidents and prime ministers. Many of my personal role models are continuing to make a difference; Shirin Ebadi, Dr. Wangari Matthai and Dr. Mohammad Yunus are each Nobel laureates. However, one must not have received a noble prize to be accepted as a leader.

Case in point is Greg Mortenson, who started with a promise and did what he needed to do to keep his word. These examples are of individuals who started where they were in life and where they were geographically. They embodied leadership in their actions and practices. These leaders did not stand in line waiting for someone to tell them they were leaders. Instead, they took action and mobilized their community to join them in taking action.

There are others, anonymous leaders, who are taking action every day to make a positive difference in their communities and empowering people. They are anonymous because their work has not been acknowledged or given media coverage.

In the Transformative Leadership Program, we believe in developing leaders from inside out. We ask our students what kind of leader they want to be; we help them recognize their leadership strengths and areas where they need to develop in order to be effective. We encourage them to develop leadership capacities within themselves, so that they remain leaders whether they are leading a corporation, a non-profit, or starting their own business. We ask our students to begin taking action where they are in their life and work and—because we are an online program—where they are geographically as well.