Word 099
In the mountains of Uda, Nara Prefecture, stands Murō-ji Temple. In spring, rhododendrons bloom along both sides of its stone steps, casting the approach in a soft shade of pink.
For centuries, this temple has been known as "Nyonin Kōya" — the Kōya for women. Mount Kōya, the great headquarters of Shingon Buddhism, long barred women from its grounds, closing off their path to the teachings.
Those who could not reach Mount Kōya instead made their way to the distant mountains of Murō. Countless footsteps once pressed into these stone steps still seem to linger deep within the cedar grove.
This world is a "school of life."
How you use it is up to you.
There's no such thing as "this way is right, and that way is wrong."
There can be as many ways to use it as there are people.
The rhododendrons, too, bloom in different colors and face different directions on the very same branch — compared to no one, simply blooming where they stand.