| He took this opening verse, the hokku, and refined it to become what is now known as the haiku. |
| The most attenuated form of all is the hokku which consists of only three lines, namely, 17 syllables. |
| The basic pattern of the hokku in three lines, followed by alternation of two and three, ending with two had to be maintained. |
| He reformed the hokku, by introducing into everything he wrote a deep spiritual significance underlying the words. |
| There are some thoughts and choices to be made before the hokku is written. |
| Some of his hokku capture a moment of heightened awareness in which the boundary between subject and object seems to disappear. |
