FROM THE GARDEN OF ZEN: March 2016

March 13, 2016

Weeping Ume tree: Kaizo-ji

Winter has passed at last and the flowers of spring have just begun to bloom in the wintry garden of Zen.

Although the faded coldness of winter is still staying behind, the calm air is carrying the sweet scents of flowers to let us notice the stealthy arrival of new spring.

The noble blossoms of Ume (Japanese apricot) always start blooming in the coldness of February to suggest the coming of the season of rebirth before any flower.

The flowers of seasons are telling us of the beautiful story about the birth, death and rebirth with their transient forms, colors and aromas.

White Ume blossoms: Engaku-ji

Red Ume blossoms: Engaku-ji

The mild warmth and sunlight of spring have returned to the gardens and have begun to awake every living thing which was sleeping on in the gray chill of long winter.

The red blossoms of Ume, which seem to have just bloomed, are beaming with ingenuous delight like infants in the soft spring sunlight.

White Ume tree: Kencho-ji

In the empty garden of a minor temple, the white blossoms of an old Ume tree are modestly blooming as if to greet the spring which is just to arriving.

The small garden, which is completely wrapped in silence, is softly mottled with the mellow ray of the afternoon sun filtering through the branches of trees around it.