FROM THE GARDEN OF ZEN: June 2020

June 30, 2020

Ajisai (Hydrangea) flowers: Kaizo-ji

Beyond the small bell tower, colorful flowers are blooming splendidly among the dense green leaves in the variable sun of June.

This scene of exquisite colors reminds me of an impressionist painting of a summer garden mounted in a wooden frame.

Ajisai flowers constantly change their colors due to the hidden chemistry between pigments, sunlight, rain, and soil. Such hurried transition of colors is called ”Shichi-henge (seven changes)" after the Kabuki dance in which a leading actor quickly changes his clothes seven times.

Though I never know the reasons why Ajisai flowers need to change their colors so quickly, this rapid color variation makes me feel the wonders of nature and the swift passage of time under the rainy sky.

Ajisai (Hydrangea) flowers: Kencho-ji

By the side of the stone monument on which "Kanzan Jittoku-zu" (the picture of Kanzan and Jittoku) is engraved, the magenta and blue flowers of Ajisai were quietly blooming in the shade of trees, waiting for the next rain.

This stone monument was given to Kencho-ji temple by Kanzan-ji Temple (Han-shan-si, Suzhou, China) as a token of the cultural exchange of Rinzai Zen Sect between China and Japan and is a replica of the original monument of Kanzan-ji temple of China.

Kanzan and Jittoku are legendary Chinese Zen-monks who are often drawn as a subject of Zenga (Zen Buddhist paintings) in China and Japan.

Standing alone in the silent grove behind the temple, I felt like I was hearing the roars of laughter from these eccentric Zen-monks, which were vibrating through eternity.

Ajisai (Hydrangea) flowers: Engaku-ji

Together with the vivid green leaves of summer, the sky-blue and pale purple flowers of hydrangea are catching the dazzling sunlight that comes from the precious sunny sky in the gray rainy season.

At a distance from these graceful flowers, there is the Chinese-styled gable of the imperial envoy gate in sight.

Ajisai (Hydrangea) flowers: Chojyu-ji

A colorful assortment of Ajisai flowers is blooming along the quiet hill road.

The freshness and splendor of these flowers are reaching their best just now thanks to the blessings of nature from this wet season.

As summer deepens and the bright blue sky appears dominantly, these moist flowers gradually dry out, subtly losing their delicate pastel colors.

Ajisai (Hydrangea) flowers: Jyochi-ji

Ajisai (Hydrangea) flowers: Engaku-ji

Iwa-tabako (Conandron ramondioides) flowers: Tokei-ji

Ajisai (Hydrangea) flowers: Kaizo-ji

Hana-shobu (Iris ensata var. ensata) flowers: Kaizo-ji

Ajisai (Hydrangea) flowers: Chojyu-ji

Ajisai (Hydrangea) flowers: Kencho-ji

Ajisai (Hydrangea) flowers: Kita-kamakura

Ajisai (Hydrangea) flowers: Kencho-ji

June 8, 2020

Satsuki (Rhododendron indicum) flowers: Kaizo-ji

In the bright garden at the beginning of summer, the innumerable brightly-colored flowers of Satsuki are embracing the small stone image of Sho-kannon (Holy Avalokitesvara) as if to show their deep devotion to this deity of infinite compassion.

Plants and trees must tell us their secret stories of life by the various exquisite colors, forms, and scents of their flowers.

Soon the long rainy season will start and the sky will be filled with heavy rain clouds.

Without finding it bothersome, these flowers are cheerfully blooming and voicelessly chanting the praises of the remaining days of this sunny early summer.

Kakitsubata (Iris laevigata) flowers: Kaizo-ji

The vivid violet flowers and blue-green leaves of Kakitsubata (rabbit-ear iris) were clearly reflected in the quiet water of the pond.

All of a sudden, a scarlet carp broke the calm water and made a loud splash in the deep stillness like a thundering shout of an old Zen master.

Suiren (water lily) flower: Kita-kamakura

The long-awaited flowers of waterlily are finally beginning to bloom above the calm water one after another in the bright sunlight of early summer.

A Japanese honey bee is delightedly getting into this small graceful flower to receive the pollen and nectar presented by the flower in reward for pollination.

All living things are mutually interdependent and subtlely cooperating with each other to share and sustain the biosphere of the planet earth.

In the mysterious ways that only humans never know, they must be talking with each other privately about the precious blessings which this planet gives them.