FROM THE GARDEN OF ZEN: December 2020

December 27, 2020

Sunset seascape: Yuigahama-beach

The sun is gradually sinking beyond the distant horizon, sending out its blazing rays of light into the pastel winter seascape as if to show its crowning glory of this day.

The intertwined strings of fleecy clouds, which are gently floating away due to the winter sea breeze, are illuminated by the dazzling golden light of the setting sun and are shining softly against the pale evening sky.

A small fishing boat is sailing slowly across the rippling surface of the sea which is shining with the luster of old gold in the glow of the setting sun.

Sunset seascape: Yuigahama-beach

The position of the sun, the shades of the floating clouds, the state of the atmosphere, and the reflections on the sea are constantly changing before my eyes and are creating the ever-transforming spectacles of sunset which I can never encounter again.

People standing in silence on the seashore are unknowingly gazing at the restless undulation of the universe far beyond the sinking sun.

The homing seabirds are quietly making their way across the calm river mouth which is reflecting the glowing colors of the evening sky.

At the water's edge: Yuigahama-beach

The sea is shining like a vast silvery mosaic in the bright ray of the sinking sun. Beyond this dazzling seascape, I see eternity extending far away to the end of universe.

Like a Koan (an enigmatic riddle of Zen which has no solution,) the boundless expanse of the rippling sea implies the veiled meaning of our birth, death, and rebirth.

People are lingering at the water's edge to seek the silent distant voices from beyond the sea so that they can realize the innermost reasons for their being in existence here now.

Sunset seascape: Yuigahama-beach

Although the sun is disappearing behind the silhouette of the Izu Peninsula, the radiant golden glow of the evening sun is still spreading far and wide across the sky.

The dusk is deepening every moment. A mass of cumulus clouds are drifting away in the twilight, gradually getting darker and darker.

Like the glowing embers of the setting sun, the bottoms of the shadowy clouds are tinted with the color of a dark flame.

Afterglow: Yuigahama-beach

Flying dragon clouds: Yuigahama-beach

Sunset seascape: Yuigahama-beach

Cumulus clouds: Yuigahama-beach

Sunset seascape: Yuigahama-beach

December 9, 2020

Autumn leaves: Engaku-ji

In the humble front garden of the temple dedicated to Sho-Kannon (Aryavalokitesvara,) the dry leaves of the old maple tree are quietly turning scarlet as if to know when the biting cold wind will begin to blow.

By the side of this small temple, the old Kinmokusei (golden fragrant olive) tree, which once bore countless golden flowers in early autumn, has returned to its inconspicuous evergreen figure and is quietly standing there to brace itself for the arrival of harsh midwinter.

As winter deepens moment by moment, autumn leaves become brightly colored more and more to dye this tranquil garden with the flaming colors of vivid afterglow.

Autumn leaves: Engaku-ji

In the bright slanting sunlight of the afternoon, a festivity of blazing colors is continuing silently as if to try to withstand the inevitable coming of desolate wintry scenes.

Knowing that their time of falling will come soon in this fast-passing season, the gold and crimson leaves keep gaining the fiery colors of the setting sun in front of the solemn Sangedatsumon (Three Gates of Liberation) of the old temple.

Autumn leaves: Engaku-ji

The old stone statues of Kannon Bosatsu (Kannon Bodhisattva) are calmly bathed in the oblique rays of the afternoon sun.

The vivid yellow and red leaves of the trees around this garden are shining radiantly like brilliant gold ornaments to dedicate their splendor to these deities of great compassion and mercy.

In the profound silence of this sacred place, the small moss-covered images of Kannon Bosatsu are everlastingly praying that the souls of all living things are saved from their sufferings and pains.