He remains serene
whatever the season.
In Tales of Tokyo, Jason goes walking alone at dusk along
the coast of Matsushima. Overwhelmed and weighted down by the woes of the world and by the pain, misery and loneliness that seem our human inheritance, he comes upon a stone Buddha:
"Imperturbable and serene in heat and cold, the Buddha sat there with that secretive smile, like one who knows but isn't telling; and Jason wondered,
can one really live in this world and know such peace, such calm, be so undisturbed by life's disappointments and sorrows,
so untroubled by its desires and temptations, without being made of stone?"
When I walk this hillside and come upon a buddha, I wonder this still.
[First posted: November 21, 2015]
