Good morning!
Today is spring equinox. It is called higan (彼岸), the other shore, beyond chill and heat, nirvana beyond all karma winds, self and other, and birth and death.
Only when we practice and reach nirvana, we can be awakened in wholly wholesome purity and prognosis.
We can now hear birds singing, see beautiful flowers, and sense the moon through and beyond open windows. As Dogen’s poem titled “the original face” sings:
Flowers in spring,
Cuckoo in summer,
The moon in autumn,
Snow in winter cool and clear.
Haru-wa hana
Natsu hototogisu
Aki-wa tsuki
Fuyu yuki saete suzushikarikeri
春は花
夏ほととぎす
秋は月
冬雪さえてすずしかりけり
So, the right, wholly wholesome, practice cycle of aspiration, action, awakening, and unconditioned peace goes on and on. They are going around and are one altogether.
Only practice makes possible and perfect. Cultivation is verification in total equanimity like equinox balanced in day and night.
3/20/12
