SAICHO, THE FOUNDER of Tendai Buddhism in Japan, once said, “True riches are not material things but that which shines light into a dark corner.” As I interpret it, lighting up a corner means using one’s own unique talents and passions to brighten a corner of the world.
Kukai, the founder of Shingon Buddhism, added another layer. He believed that the natural world, the world of trees and flowers, is enlightened. “Sentient beings” include not only human beings, but also plants.
These reflections, articulated by two Buddhist contemporaries of the ninth century, laid the foundation for the flower-temple pilgrimages of modern Japan: the practice of journeying to various temple gardens. I’d booked a flower-temple pilgrimage
