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Basho was very familiar with the poems at Po Chu I. After his journey to the Deep North, Basho in 1691, stopped off at Kyorai's place, The House of Fallen Persimmons, for a period of 17 days. This was to be a time for relaxation, to catch up on his studies and revisions. He received visits from disciples, gave instructions etc.

One of the works he brought along with him was the collected poems of Po Chu I. He may or may not have known the following famous put down by Dogen in his Shobogenzo essay, Shaku Makusa (“Refrain From All Evil Whatsoever”)  -  “The poet Po Chu I of the Tang Dynasty was a lay disciple of Meditation Master Fo-Kuang Ju-man. When Po Chu I was governor of Hangchow, he trained under Meditation Master Tao-lin. He once asked Tao-lin ‘Just what is the major intention of the Buddha-Dharma?’ Tao-lin replied, ‘Refrain from all evil whatsoever; uphold and practice all that is good.’ Po Chu I said, ‘If that’s all there is to it, even a child of three knows how to say that!’ Tao-lin said, ‘Though a three-year-old child can say it, there are old men in their eighties who still cannot put it into practice.’ ”. Upon hearing the matter put this way, Po Chu I then bowed in gratitude. Dogen then goes on to state how Po Chu I had missed the point.

Having said that, it should be pointed out that Po Chu I was very much influenced by Buddhism and practiced meditation. This incident most probably occurred early in his practice, as there is evidence that he spent considerable time at various monasteries, engaging in Zen meditation and other religious activities. The Transmission of the Lamp, compiled in the Sung Dynasty by Tao Yuan, records his encounters with contemporary Zen Masters.

              Shiba no to ni / cha o konoha kaku / arashi kana

                          At my brushwood gate
                  drinking tea, leaves are swept up
                          by a stormy wind

In one of his earliest haibun, written in the late autumn of 1680 Basho writes, “Having lived an austere life for nine springs and autumns, I decided to move to the banks of the Fukagawa River. Having the same feelings as that poet of old, who once said, ‘Since Chang-an has long been a place for those who seek fame and fortune, a place tough on those who are empty-handed and penniless.’ Maybe that’s why I can appreciate his sensibility?”

That poet of old was Po Chu I, who he quotes directly and finishes off with the ‘brushwood gate’ haiku.

                                             *
In 1683 Basho wrote
                         Hana ni ukiyo / waga sake shiroku / meshi kureshi

                                      Drunk with blossoms
                              my rice wine is coloured white
                                     & my rice is brown
with a preface in Chinese by Po Chu I

             When we have a serious worry,
             We realize the holy power of sake.
             Only when we have suffered poverty,
             Do we realize the divine value of money.

                                              *
In 1684 Basho wrote
                               Biwako no / yo ya samisen no / oto arare

                                           Song of a lute
                               in the night - sounds as though
                                     hailstones are falling

This haiku was influenced by Po Chu I’s poem, ‘Song of the Lute’, which he wrote while in exile at Chiu-chiang. He had been moved by someone playing the p’i—p’a, a lute. Upon enquiry it proved to be a former singing girl, who had fallen upon hard times. The poem contained two lines

                         The big strings plang—planged
                                        like swift—falling rain
                         The little strings went buzz—buzz
                                        like secret conversations

                                                  *
In a haibun from the spring of 1688 Basho writes, “ ‘Tomorrow I’ll become a cypress’. That’s what the old tree once said in the valley. Yesterday has gone by and tomorrow hasn’t arrived. So, whilst alive, I enjoy my wine and keep repeating to myself “tomorrow, tomorrow”, until I’m rebuked by the sages”. Basho had in mind a poem of Po Chu I‘s entitled ‘Recommending Wine’.

                                  A pile of gold after death
                                  is not worth a cask at wine
                                                       while alive

Basho concludes with a haiku
                                   Sabishisa ya / hana no atari no / asunaro

                                         Loneliness -
                                     amidst blossoms
                                       a false cypress

At the same time, he wrote another version

                             Hi wa hana ni / Kurete sabishi ya / asunaro

                        As the sun goes down
                     flowers go over - sadness
                       of the false cypress

Asunaro, Thujopsis dolabrata, the false cypress, which literally means “tomorrow I will become a cypress.”
                                                 *
             Katatsuburi / tsuno furiwakeyo / suma akashi

                       The land snail waving
                 his horns, stretched out between
                          Suma & Akashi!

Which is prefaced by, “The distance between Suma and Akashi is so close that we can reach it by crawling. Now I understand it.” In fact, Akashi is about 12 km to the west of Suma. Basho in all probability derived his haiku from the Tale of Genji, chapter Suma, and from Chuang-tzu's story of “the Fighting on the Horns of a Snail.” It has also been said to come from a poem of Po Chu I, which I have been unable to trace.

                                                *
                  Fuyugomeri / mata yorisowan / konohashira
 
                                   Winter seclusion -
                                 once again I snuggle up
                                   against this pillar

    This haiku is thought to be derived from a poem by Po Chu I

                                   In my leisurely life
                                   again I lean against this post
 
                                            ***
Note:  the versions of Basho’s haiku are my own.

Sources.
Nearman, Rev. H. (trans.) (1996) The Shobogenzo. Shasta Abbey.
Oseko,T. (1996). Basho’s Haiku. Vols. 1& 4. Maruzen Co., Lyd.
Ueda, M. (1991) Basho and His Interpreters. Stanford University Press.
Watson, B. (trans.) (2000) Po Chu I, Selected Poems. Columbia University Press.