Zen words is the best word “年々歳々花相似 Nennen sai sai hana ai nitari Nen nen sai sai hito onazikarazu”

2025年4月4日2025年4月16日

Flowers bloom the same way every year, but people grow older every year.

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 “Nennen saisai hana ainitari Nennen saisai hito onazikarazu" It means “Flowers bloom the same way every year, but people do not the same"

1. Flowers bloom the same way every year, but people grow older every year.
2. Zen is difficult, you just have to feel it.
3. Here is a Zen question and answer.

Flowers bloom the same way every year, but people grow older every year.

The cherry blossom season has come again. Cherry blossoms bloom the same every year, even as the world changes. They bloom quietly whether people are suffering from disasters or living peacefully. When the flowers are in full bloom, even those walking with their heads down look up at the flowers. They lift their heads. Just the fact that the flowers are in bloom is wonderful.

“Year after year, the flowers are the same, but people are not the same year after year," is a line from the fourth stanza of the Tang Dynasty poem “In Place of the Sad White-Headed Old Man" by Liu Tingzhi. Flowers bloom the same every year, but people grow older every year. Nature does not change, but people do. This poem laments the impermanence of life.

Life is very short and fleeting compared to the eternity of nature. There is no point in lamenting it. Rather than lamenting, I would like to be happy that I was able to see the same flowers again this year. I would like to enjoy the flowers in full bloom to the fullest.

Zen is difficult, you just have to feel it.

“D. T. Suzuki Zen (English version)" is a book written in English to introduce Zen to foreign countries. I thought it would be easy to understand because it is a manual on Zen written for foreigners, but it is difficult and almost incomprehensible. The writing style is old and difficult. It is difficult like a big mountain towering before your eyes. Even if you think you understand it, you soon lose it. It is frustrating, like a fish that you are about to grab and then it slips away. It is like a painting of catching a catfish with a gourd.

Zen aims to achieve enlightenment. If you achieve enlightenment, you can know your true self. However, if you try to understand your true self through your intellect, the intellect that understands and your true self will exist separately. Then you will not know your true self. Your true self and your intellect must be one.

This is difficult to understand. I feel like I understand it, but I still don’t understand it. Zen monks undergo rigorous training to understand it. Ordinary people do not train, so it is natural that they cannot reach the state of a Zen monk. We don’t need to think too hard about it. We just need to interpret Zen in our own way and apply it to our lives.