Good morning!
What kind of dreams did you have on the first night of this year? What kind of resolutions did you make? In Japan we list our dreams in the order of auspiciousness: Mt. Fuji, hawks, eggplants, and funerals. Eggplants really look like eggs when they are the white varieties. So, eggplants may mean birth in consideration of the following, death. The two other dreams show the greatest graceful mountain and brave birds flying free.
This year is the year of dragon. It is said that fish that succeed in jumping over high dams become dragons, with super powers beyond our imagination. In India nâga means an elephant or a boar, the greatest, strongest visible animals on land. The Buddha was called nâga, the greatest and strongest one. Zen halls are called sen-butsu-dô, selecting buddha halls (選仏堂). When we go through the dragon gate, we become dragons.
We are usually caught by matter and power, and lose our mind and life. Only when we go beyond trifles and transient things can we find greater and more permanent matters. Only when we go beyond them can we see the value of greater, stronger peace and truth. So, let us dream and be resolved in attaining priceless peace and prognosis. Let us have our auspicious aspiration and action for unconditioned peace and unsurpassed awakening.
1/2/12
Undo (雲堂) = Unsuido (雲水堂) ＝Sodo (僧堂) = Senbutsudo（選仏堂）of Shogoji (聖護寺) in Kyushu, annex to Zuioji (瑞応寺) in Shikoku, Japan, taken by Erin, who practiced there last spring.
Practitioners, monks and nuns (so: 僧), freely fly and flow like clouds (雲) and water(水), thus called unsui (cloud-water: 雲水), abridged here un (雲), thus undo (雲堂：cloud hall).