Spring is going away at Takakura shrine.
高座神社の藤
Wisteria flowers at Takakura shrine
佐地神社の新緑
Fresh greens at Saji shrine
柏原八幡の三重の塔と新緑
Fresh greens and the three-stories pagoda at Hachiman shrine in Kaibara
新緑の岩瀧寺
Ganryu-ji temple with fresh greens
新緑と独鈷の滝
Dokko the waterfall and fresh greens
独鈷の滝 滝壺
The basin of Dokko the waterfall
This is quiet and peaceful reading. Yet water is a dragon too and life, even the softtest greenest life is a a constant struggle for completeness. For the bringing together of water and rock and sky and hope into that bright spark that makes the fern alive and me alive to admire this brave little life, hanging on to a cliff, knowing it will lose but for one moment, tying all that there is into its keen selfknowing heart.
返信削除That is what I think of water and plants and dragons.
Thank you for your comment.
返信削除It sounds like a poem.
Dragons in Asia are the symbol of water. We like dragons, but they often run wild if we are lazy to treat them.
I did not know that about water and dragons.
返信削除I found your photos evocative and worth a careful selection of words.
I love visiting shirines in the countrysides. Originaly Japanese gods have been big rocks, tall trees, deep rivers, and so on from acient times.
返信削除It sounds like American Indian's gods, isn't it ?
I am now reading Tony Hillerman's "The Sinister Pig ". I like Navajo cultures.
I am not sure if one can say that there is a single American Indian culture or religious view, but many Indians, and in Canada they refer to themselves as First Nations, believe in many of the same things. Many of us for example tend to call ourselves "The People" or Eno, hence the word that the former Eskimos called themselves -the Inuit. What I find fascinating in all of this is that there are some in Japan who call themselves the "Ainu". I met a number of these people in Geneva at a conference for Indigenous Peoples. I wonder if this is an accident or are we perhaps related somehow since we call ourselves by the same name?
返信削除Many Indians believe that there are always two sides to everything. One in this world the other in the world evidenced by dreams or spirits. Some even say the real world is the dream world. All things therefore have aspects of both these worlds thus everything has spirit.
Indians and I include myself in this believe that there is one God that is everything. We are a part of God. Everything is a part of God. Our sole duty is to fully realize ourselves to become fully God, something that is within us all. This learning process means that we have to fully understand everything in this world and in the spirit world and once we can see this and our path or road is in beauty and all is perfect then we are close to understanding. We fail and fail but we are born again to continue the quest. There are many ways to seek contact with both sides. In my culture there are seven ceremonies for example. ... As you can see, as in all belief systems it can get quickly complicated! I chuckle when I say this but my big introduction to Japanese culture took place over food. I love food. Japanese food is particularily beautiful. Secondly, I read the book Shogun, thirdly, I met a Potter in Spain and his father had lived for many many years in Japan in order to learn a particular technique in glazing. Leach his name was and his son Simon told me of his personal quest to come close to what his father could do.
Tony Hillerman wrote (he is dead now) well about the Navaho and Hopi cultures. Many Navahos are suspicious about his politics but I believe he wrote well and kindly about Indian peoples.
Eqwa. Enough.
Thanks someone for interesting comment.
返信削除I appreciate you.