May 26, 2008

in his heart he prayed for guidance





The wind blowing over the mountain often turned into a tornado – the birds and animals living there, even the smaller rocks, found themselves whirled up into the air. When the gardenia flowers blossomed, a special gardenia wind blew. Not a single petal would fall to the ground, instead they would be swept up into the sky and their scent would fill the air.

Still, if he has come, he can’t really have come too soon. When anything comes or appears, it comes when it has to come, appears when it has to appear.


[…] he gathered his wits and made a sign of reverence in the direction he was heading. In his heart he prayed for guidance.



Ko Un, Little Pilgrim, Parallax Press, Berkley, 2005


drawing by Nakamura Hochu, taken from the marvelous blog Japonisme, a link that in my absence I leave as a gift for you to browse...

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