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context: poetry > haiku > form
The Content of Haiku
Suzuki says that haiku partakes of Zen - perhaps this is most true in its focus on one moment of illuminating reality, like an epiphany, a moment of enlightenment. He also says it should come naturally, without intellect and calculation - but it's not clear to me how you can naturally get to a specific syllable count per line. I'd also claim that its brevity echoes that of one-line paintings, single-character calligraphy and the simplicity of Raku, all of which have very strong Zen associations.
The key traditional rule is that there must be some seasonal cue in each haiku, a "kigo" - e.g. the moon always symbolises autumn unless otherwise specified; or snow, cherry blossoms, etc. There are lots of words that suggest a season to Japanese readers. Most haiku collections are organised by season.