Japan Discovery Zen words is the best word 掬水月在手 弄花香満衣
Zen is difficult. Zen word is also difficult. That’s why I interpret it as I please. I think that’s fine. Enou Zenji, Dogen Zenji, Ikkyu-san, and Ryokan-san are likely to say, “That’s fine, that’s fine. Let it be."Today’s Zen word is “掬水月在手 弄花香満衣 Mizu o sukueba te no nakani tsuki ari, hana o rō seba Koui ni kaori mitsu" It means “If you scoop water with both hands, the moon is in your hands. If you play with flowers, the fragrance fills your clothes."
If you scoop water with both hands, the moon is in your hands. If you play with flowers, the fragrance fills your clothe
On a night when winter is over and the air is warm, you stop by a stream and see the hazy moon reflected on the surface of the water. If you scoop up water with both hands, the moon will be in the water in your hands. If you hold the flowers blooming all around you in your hands, their fragrance will fill your clothes. The spring mountains are filled with the breath of life and are the most pleasant thing. This is a line from “Spring Mountain Night Moon" by Yu Liangshi, a poet of the Tang Dynasty in China.
“A child crying, asking me to take the beautiful moon." In Kobayashi Issa’s poem, the child wanted the harvest moon. Even if adults understand the child’s feelings, they don’t think they can take the moon. They tell the child that it’s beautiful just to look at it. What a heartwarming scene.
Sharing makes your heart peaceful
The moon reflected in the scooped water and the fragrance of the flowers filling your clothes are one with you. The real moon and flowers are there as they are. You cannot grasp these things, but they can become yours depending on your attitude. I share the moon and flowers with many people. People can share many things.
People are always fighting over land and wealth. We want this and that, and our desires lead us to try to take from others. Sometimes we resort to violence to get what we want. We worry that what we have stolen will be taken away by others. Wanting everything to be yours is as futile as a child wanting the moon. We should stop doing that. If we have a sharing attitude, our hearts will be at peace, like a spring night. If we change our thinking from monopoly to sharing, a peaceful society is sure to come.
If we are satisfied with the moon reflected in the water in our hands and the scent of flowers filling our clothes, we can live with a peaceful heart.