Good morning!
We have nice wet and rather unusually warm weather. So, now we can see green grass. A proverb says “Rain solidifies soil. (ame futte chi katamaru: 雨降って地固まる)”
Our miseries and misfortunes may bring us to solutions and satisfaction. Wars and disasters, birth and death, may lead us to peace and deathlessness.
Soldiers entered into Mt. Yun-ju. Their general asked Master Yun-ju sitting motionless, “When the world attains peace?” Yun-ju said, “When your mind becomes peaceful.”
I watched the movie titled Zen, now available on a disc with English subtitles, which tells about Dogen’s life. After watching it I recalled Kyoshi’s (虚子) haiku (俳句) poem:
Something like a stick
piercing through the going year
and the coming year.
Kozo-kotoshi
tsuranuku bôno
gotokimono
去年今年
貫く棒の
如きもの
Among all through dust and devastation of the world Dogen’s life was something like space straight through and still embracing turbulent and tumultuous clouds.
An op-ed article in today’s New York Times was on endless wars. Unless we put an end to our karma of craving, anger, and delusion, we cannot stop our wars inside and out.
Unless we have firm determination and deed in the two islands of self and dharma, we have endless wars, never settling in peace, much less unconditioned peace (nirvana).
2/16/12
