Orange County Buddhist Church
Orange County Buddhist Church
A Way of Seeing (Flowers, 4/05)
There is a book that is either titled Hana wa Chiru, or has a chapter in it with that title. It was written by the late Professor Susumu Yamaguchi, of Ohtani University (Higashi Honganji) in Kyoto. It can be translated as “Flowers scatter,” or “flowers fall,” or, perhaps more to the point, “flowers die.”
As you might guess, one of the reasons for the book is to have us think about this seemingly very simple, self-evident fact. How many of us have ever thought about it?
As this is being written, because of the heavy rains this year, wildflowers are said to be filling the expanses of the deserts in the area, especially in Death Valley and Anza-Borrego. It used to be the case that I would drive the family out to the deserts to see them, but age has finally made me give second and third thoughts about driving all that way, especially to Death Valley. I sincerely hope that those of you who are younger will take your families out to the deserts to see these beautiful wildflowers. Drive out there by yourself if you have no family.
By the time you read this, unfortunately, it will probably be too late and you will have to wait decades for another rain of the quantity and timeliness we had this year for the flowers that are out there as this is being written. It is possible that Joshua Tree National Park might yet have some, since it is higher in elevation than Death Valley and Anza.
In any case, the point is that flowers scatter/fall/die. Just as you and I will. On the other hand, the flowers will have reached full bloom before they scattered. The question we need to answer is whether we have or will reach full bloom, however we might define that, before we “scatter.” Keep in mind that we are able to “bloom” more than once in our lifetimes, e.g., graduating, getting a good job, doing well in that job, falling in love, realizing our true, real selves through Shinjin, and so on.
I sincerely hope that you will give this some thought, especially at this time of blooming flowers and flower festivals in celebration of the birth of the Buddha Shakyamuni.
Gassho,
Donkon Jaan
Rev. John Doami
