Monday, June 09, 2014

Keeping Watch With a Smile

He has been with us for years, and he carries out his appointed tasks from a quiet, comfortable and rather wild corner behind the little blue house, one of two garden Buddhas who keep watch over our leafy backyard realm in three seasons of the calendar year: springtime, summer and autumn.

White and purple violets grow nearby, and a shoot of the Maiden's Blush rose has taken root in front of him this year, all on its own - a fragrant offering and surely an act of dana.  There are songbirds in season, and on early summer mornings, cottontail rabbits sometimes visit for mindful conversations. One eye open and one eye closed, the old guy in the garden smiles at every sentient being who turns up, and they smile right back at him, recognizing a friend and protector.