Letter June "Rain is the water of life"
暑い日が続いていますね。
皆さま、いかがお過ごしでしょうか。東北もまもなく梅雨を迎えようとしています。さて、梅雨時期に吹く風は「黒南風（くろはえ）」、中頃は「荒南風（あらはえ）」、梅雨が終わると「白南風（しろはえ）」と、季節によって風の呼び名も変わります。長雨が続くどんよりとした空を色で表現するならばまさに黒。それに対し、梅雨明けの青く澄んだ空を吹き渡る風は白く光っているようです。自然に寄り添い生きてきた先人の感性の豊かさに驚かされます。
さて、大阿闍梨には梅雨時期になると必ず、思い出すことがあります。それは千日回峰行を行じ、五年が過ぎた頃のこと。すさまじい猛暑で山はからっからに乾いていました。暑さに体力を奪われ、汗が滝のように流れ落ちました。水を飲むことが出来るたった二本の川も水量が少なくなり、ちろちろと流れている程度。ためらいなく、ふもとの神社の掃除用のドラム缶の錆びくさい水を飲み、来る日も来る日も苦しい行を続けたのです。
梅雨時期は鬱陶しいとよく申しますが、雨は恵みをもたらす命の水であり、雨が花や木々を潤していく様もまた、感謝の風景ではないでしょうか。
It's been hot days. How are you all doing? Tohoku is about to reach the rainy season. By the way, the wind that blows during the rainy season is "Kurohae", the middle is "Arae", and after the rainy season is "Shirohae", depending on the season. The name of the wind also changes. If you want to express the cloudy sky with long rains in color, it's just black. On the other hand, the wind blowing through the clear blue sky after the rainy season seems to shine white. You will be amazed at the richness of the sensibilities of our predecessors who have lived close to nature.
By the way, there is always something to remember about RyoJun during the rainy season. It was about five years after he went to Sennichi Kaiho. The mountains were dry and dry due to the tremendous heat. The heat deprived me of my strength, and my sweat ran down like a waterfall. The amount of water in only two rivers where you can drink water is low, and it is flowing slowly. Without hesitation, he drank the rusty water from the cleaning drums at the foot of the shrine, and continued to struggle day after day. It is often said that the rainy season is annoying, but rain is the water of life that brings grace, and the way it moistens flowers and trees is also a landscape of gratitude.
今月の一言
人に運命というものがあるならば、苦難を乗り越えて、人間として成長するための人生にぶれが生じないよう、信念を持って淡々と歩んでいくことなのかもしれません。「なぜ自分がこんな思いをしなければならないんだ」という嘆きもすべて受けとめて、呑み込んで、日々の生活を刻む。すると、心の中に少しずつ変化がもたらされます。
それが、修行のいちばん最初の入り口なのかも知れません。
[Monthly Word]
If a person has a destiny, it may be to overcome the hardships and walk with conviction so that the life to grow as a human being will not be shaken. Accepting all the grief that "why do I have to think like this", swallow it and carve out my daily life. This will bring about a little change in your mind. That may be the very first entrance to the training.