However much the world changes, there are some things that remain the same.
Namely, spring will arrive and the buds will sprout, and then autumn will descend and the leaves will fall. In other words, things will take their natural course. This is exactly what is meant by the character for the Buddha in Buddhism—仏—which signifies bliss, or the “Buddha nature” of things.
What we call spring actually has no physical form. Spring does not materially exist.
Nevertheless, when winter comes to an end, the northern wind shifts to a southern breeze, bringing warmer temperatures. Soon the plants sprout buds. We see this and think to ourselves, “Ah, spring has arrived.”
But perhaps there are those who don’t notice the buds and flowers, or some who see them and feel nothing—for these people, there is no such thing as spring.
A Chinese poet from the Northern Song dynasty named Su Shi was struck by the beauty of the spring landscape and said, “The willows in their green, the flowers in their crimson, reveal their true nature.” In the natural shape of things—this is where the truth is found.
With an open mind, notice the truth in the everyday—in the Buddha nature of things.
This awareness will give us the courage we need to go on living.