Similarly, Japanese poetry, known as haiku, celebrated the aesthetic of simplicity in recognition of transience, suffering, and ultimate emptiness.
Simplicity was important. As we have seen, in Zen too, simplicity is valued. After all, enlightenment is to be found in everyday life, and there is no point in attachment to life, so a simple lifestyle is esteemed.
Traditionally, haiku consists of three lines. The three lines comprise 17 syllables, the first 5, the second 7, and the third 5 syllables in length.