Suiseki tokonoma kazari

雪月花

Snow, Moon, Flower

Blooming of flowers in spring, Singing of a cuckoo in summer, Shining of the moon in autumn,

And falling of snow in winter freshen us up.

This prose is written and named true nature’ by Dögen (1200 – 1253), the Zen Buddhist teacher. Dögen taught that only an empty mind which is free of all other thoughts can perceive the beauty in the nature, the ‘true nature’.

Kyoto Kamogawa ishi