Word 062
Asuka-dera Temple stands on the edge of Asuka village. Built during the reign of Empress Suiko, it was Japan's first full-scale Buddhist temple.
Before the dawn of a late-summer night, the world was still deep blue. Only the wind moved across the paddies. Frogs called somewhere in the distance. The outline of the thatched roof barely lifted from the edge of the sky.
Then the ridge to the east began, very slowly, to hold a little more light. No color yet. Just a change in the quality of the darkness.
"What has form will eventually break."
"Nothing in this world lasts forever."
Whether it is your circumstances or your relationships —
that is the natural order of things.
There is no need to fear it.
No night goes on without end. And the darkest hour comes just before the dawn.
Dawn comes quietly. Without announcement. Little by little. By the time you notice, the sky has already begun to turn white.