Seasonal Letter, June: “Jinen — Living in Harmony with Nature”
Jigenji Temple – Seasonal Letters “Jinen — Living in Harmony with Nature”
How quickly June has come. Akiu has beautiful waterfalls and rivers, and many kinds of creatures live here. June is the season when praying mantises hatch and fireflies flit about.
Did you know that in Japan the praying mantis is called “ogami-mushi,” the praying insect? It is said to have gotten this name because, with its forelegs folded together before its chest as it quietly watches for prey, it looks just as if it were offering a prayer.
And fireflies — their dreamlike lights flitting through the darkness are a beloved sight of the Japanese summer. Some inns at Akiu Onsen offer firefly tours, which have become very popular. For some visitors from the city, it is their first time ever seeing wild fireflies, and they all go home carrying beautiful memories that take up no room in their luggage.
Living here in the village of Akiu, we can feel the rich turning of the seasons with all five senses. What a luxury that is — and every day, gratitude for nature’s blessings wells up in our hearts.
— This Month’s Words from Dai-Ajari Ryojun Shionuma —
We often hear the word “shizen-tai,” meaning to be natural and unaffected. The word “shizen,” nature, is read “jinen” in Buddhism. Jinen is a profound way of life — not living as one pleases, but living in accordance with the order of things.
If your conduct reaches the point where it accords with that order and flows naturally — jinen — then even if you are all alone in the mountains, the wish to always reflect on yourself will arise. This is the most important thing in life.
Once you reach that point, gratitude toward all kinds of things is naturally granted to you. Next, a heart that cares for many people naturally emerges. Then that person is wrapped in a warm atmosphere, and others who come into contact with it naturally come to feel the same way.
It is a very steady, humble path — but I believe it is our natural way of living.
From “Shunkashūtō ‘Shizen’ ni Ikiru” (Living in Nature Through the Four Seasons) by Ryojun Shionuma
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