Sunday, April 8, 2007

Hanami




This time of year, Japanese people flock to the gardens and hillsides for hanami, literally 'flower viewing', especially focused on the sakura, or cherry blossoms. They will have a picnic under the blossoms, sometimes at night. I post this because of the relevence to Zen; the brief but beautiful life of the blooms is compared to the brevity and beauty of the human experience. Here are two pictures, one with a prayer attached to the tree, from the Osaka area of Japan:






No comments: