Harmony, Attribute of the Sacred and Phenomenal in Aquinas and Kukai

Abstract

Here in Kamakura every dale has a temple snuggling in the fold of its hills. I find that the little places that offer the entirely subtle gift of a bamboo grove or a thatched roof so much a part of their nurtured atmosphere of natural peace have a breath of presence far more encompassing than those pavilions of monumental structure. My solitary walks led inevitably to sanctuaries of a smaller scale. These little places may be visited again and again without the slightest hint of stale repetition. They are like fine music whose simplicity of expression heals the complexity of one's life. Tree-arched stone stairway and unpaved paths lead to a clearing in the temple precincts. There for all to see, the momentary center of the temple: the first white and pink buds of the plum blossoms. They color boughs whose design and gnarled trunks speak of the ages. Out of winter's solitude, a singular sign of seasons' centuries-old renaissance.