FROM THE GARDEN OF ZEN: February 2024

February 5, 2024

Mejiro (Warbling white-eye bird) and Ume (japanese apricot) : Tsurugaoka-hachimangu

Without waiting the first spring breeze, the white noble flowers of Ume are beginning to bloom gracefully so as to announce the imminent arrival of spring before any flower.

The faint pleasant aroma of these white flowers is drifting softly through the dry chilly air and is inviting every starved bird which is hungry for sweet spring nectar.

The winter resting period will soon be over and the warm sunlight will once again illuminate this world abundantly.

All living things, which have gently kept holding their breath in the stillness of winter, are eagerly awaiting the return of the merciful seasons for their vigorous rebirth and regrowth.

Ume (japanese apricot) : Engaku-ji

If plants and trees possess their minds, then their blooming may secretly imply their silent joy of being alive and breeding in the turning of the seasons.

As if to unveil the sign of coming spring, numerous snow-white Ume flowers are brightly blooming on the gnarled branches of the long-lived mossy tree which has quietly endured the harsh cold of winter.

Before long, these graceful flowers will scatter and disappear one after another. The new green leaves of this tree will come out quickly all together to erase the memory of these lost flowers.

Kobai (rose plum) : Engaku-ji

According to the teaching of Buddha, any emotion based on our five senses always causes empty, fleeting illusions. Our attachment to it must be carefully restrained to obtain the true path to the spiritual awakening.

All seasonal flowers are so beautiful and mystical that they stir my mind profoundly every time I find them.

Most especially, in an almost colorless garden under the gray winter sky, the rosy flowers of Kobai always move me deeply. I have a great feeling of joy as if I had witnessed the gentle smiles of the innocent children who have just arrived from somewhere in the vast universe.

This momentary delusion brings a precious delight and then disappears in an instance as my passing daydream about those flowers.

Mejiro (Warbling white-eye bird) and Ume (japanese apricot) : Kaizo-ji

Huyu-botan (winter peony) and Taihu stones : Tsurugaoka-hachimangu

The typical flowering season of peonies is early summer. But, in the cold mid-winter, when the beautiful colors of flowers can be hardly found in gardens, the colorful flowers of Huyu-botan (winter peony) are made to bloom artificially and displayed to delight the eyes of flower fanciers.

These delicate flowers are very vulnerable to harsh winter weather and are affectionately sheltered in straw-covers to protect them against the coldness and dryness of winter.

Taihu stones are oddly-shaped stones with many holes and have been cut out of the hills around Lake Taihu, near Suzhou, China.

These stones have been highly prized as the traditional garden stones in China. They are placed in the renowned gardens in Suzhou and other parts of China for appreciation and meditation.

The hills around Lake Taihu and the islands in the lake are made of pale limestone, and the long erosion by lake water has created many holes in the limestone, giving it complex and tasteful shapes like modern sculpures.

I don't know by what strange connection these winter peonies and Taihu stones are arranged in this garden, but it is certainly a very rare and beautiful garden scene in the deep of winter.