the Ch'an sect of Buddhism.  After a brief review of

　　   the poetic component  in early Buddhist  literature,

　　   we will consider the indigenous Chinese tradition of

　　   poetically-expressed  philosophy that influenced the

　　   evolution of sinitic Buddhism. The creative mergence

　　   of  these  diverse  sources  within  Ch'an  is  then

　　   considered   through   examples   of   the   upaayic

　　   application  of  poetry  in  terms  of  a three-fold

　　   process of awakening. This leads to an outline for a

　　   poetics of Ch'an as reflected  in an epistemological

　　   analysis  of  a famous  set  of Ch'an  enlightenment

　　   poems. Lucien Stryk observes:

　　　　  Writers   of  such  poems   did  not  think   of

　　   themselves as poets. Rather they were

　　   ────────────

　　   (1) Ke-tao(Japanese, Kado), the poetry way.

　　   (2)For an inter-cultural wealth of examples, see The

　　　　 Enlightened Heart: An Anthology of Sacred Poetry,

　　　　 Stephen  Mitchell  ed.  (New York: Harper  & Row,

　　　　 1989).

　　   (3) Horst  Hammitzsch, Zen  in the  Art  of the  Tea

　　　　  Ceremony, Peter  Lemesurier  trans.  (New  York:

　　　　  E.P. Dutton, 1988), p.93.

　　　　　　　　　　　　  P.344

　　   gifted  men-masters,  monks, some  laymen-who  after

　　   momentous   experiences　　 found   themselves   with

　　   something  to say which  only a poem could  express.

　　   Enlightenment, point  of  their  meditation, brought

　　   about  transformation  of  the  spirit;  a poem  was

　　   expected to convey the essential experience  and its

　　   effect.(4)

　　   As will be argued  here, these  poems  do not merely

　　   document and validate the enlightenment  experience,

　　   but also played an important  role as catalysts  and

　　   guides for progress along the enlightenment path.

　　   The Function of Gaathaas in the Buddhist Literature

　　　　  The Sanskrit  term gaathaa  (Chinese  chia-t'uo;

　　   Japanese ga-da( is a "song...a metrical narrative or

　　   hymn, with  moral  purport, described  as  generally

　　   composed  of  thirty-two  characters,..  a  detached

　　   stanza." (5) Gaathaas are classified  among the nine

　　   classes  of  suutras  in  Theraraada   Buddhism,  as

　　   distinguished   from  actual   sermons,  prophecies,

　　   etc.(6) In the Mahaayaana  canon, gaathaas represent