Fragrance

“I play with flowers and their fragrance clings to my clothes.
This line, from the records of Master Kidō, is a couplet with “I scoop up water and the moon is in my hands.” Great works of music and art naturally guide people to the religious. Such works do not come from another realm; those who create them cannot make things that are apart from their minds. But neither do such works come from the disorder of the ordinary world. That which has been expressed from humans’ highest state of mind conveys the profoundest truth. This truth gives birth to a peace that is beyond all conflict and friction, a peace not found in the day-to-day world of people. It is a splendid, clear, and pure state, and we cannot help but honor it with the deepest respect.

It is this high level of human character that is called Buddha. All beings, all of the Buddhas and Ancestors, are unified in this Great Mind, as is all time, past, future, and present. We are one with the great joy of the abundant Dharma and know the samadhi of delightful play beyond time and space. There is no joy beyond this endless Dharma joy, and this realm is what forgives everything. After living for only a few days, a flower dies, showing the transience of life. Yet in this flower we find eternal joy and the life of the Buddha as well. This flower, whose fragrance scents our garments when we toy with it, is this abundant Mind.”

~ Shodo Harada Roshi is the head of the Rinzai Zen monastery of Sogenji, Okayama, Japan, and a master of Zen Calligraphy. Harada Roshi is also the head of the worldwide One Drop Zen-buddhist community.