🧘♀️ A Path Toward the Dragon
I didn’t set out searching for dragons. But after receiving a message—unexpected, clear, and deeply personal—that felt like it came from a dragon spirit, something stirred in me. I needed to understand more.
That pull led me, along with a friend, to a respected mountain temple in Tenkawa, a place known for its long-standing traditions and powerful festivals honoring dragon deities. The temple, with a sacred atmosphere shaped by generations of devotion, is a place where the presence of Ryujin—dragon spirits—is not just believed, but felt.
Hoping for insight, I asked if someone from the temple would be willing to speak with us. A priest kindly agreed. I asked what dragons were—what they meant, and how they connected to people like me. He explained that dragons were guardians of the land, deeply connected to nature—water, wind, and earth.
I kept searching for something more personal. For meaning.
But nothing he said really answered my questions. A little disappointed—but knowing that couldn’t be helped—I finally asked about something deeper:
What is the essence of the teachings of Shingon Buddhism?
He paused, then offered a response that lingered far longer in my heart than any words about dragons.
🌕 The Quote
“There is no good or bad in this world. No above, no below. Just being, nothing more.”
— A priest at a temple in the mountains of Japan
🌿 The Power of Just Being
There was a quiet weight to the way he spoke those words. Not dramatic. Not rehearsed. Thoughtful. Like something he had carried with him for a long time—and was offering, gently.
At first, I didn’t fully understand. But as time passed, those words returned again and again. Especially in moments when I found myself judging, grasping, or striving.
In Shingon Buddhism, there is a teaching called sokushin jōbutsu—becoming Buddha in this very body. It’s not about reaching some distant ideal. It’s about awakening to what’s already here. About being—fully, simply, and with awareness.
In a world that often demands improvement, performance, or progress, this way of seeing feels radical. That we are not “wrong” or “less than.” That we don’t need to fix ourselves to be worthy of peace. That sometimes, the most spiritual act is to simply be.
Like mist hanging over a mountain, or the stillness of a forest just before dawn—there’s a deep sacredness in things that don’t try to shine. Their being is their brilliance.
The teaching behind his words:
“Peace isn’t something we earn. It’s something we return to, when we stop trying to become and remember how to simply be.”
📸 Photo Moments from the Temple
A dragon-shaped water spout at the temple’s purification place.
The water flows gently from its mouth, inviting quiet pause—a gesture of cleansing, both physical and spiritual.
The gate to a mountain temple devoted to dragon spirits.
Stepping through feels like crossing into another realm, one where the wind speaks, and time gently slows.
A dragon carved beneath the eaves of the temple hall.
Silent and unmoving—yet filled with presence.
💌 Kaha’s Note
That day didn’t give me the answers I was hoping for.
But it offered something else—something quieter. Something that stayed.
The dragon didn’t speak in words.
But through the priest’s voice, through the stillness of the mountains,
I felt something shift inside.
Maybe we don’t always need signs or meanings.
Maybe it’s enough to follow the pull.
To stand still. To listen.
Even when we don’t understand—there’s presence.
And in that presence… something sacred.
Sometimes, answers arrive when the time is right.
I want to be someone who can fully feel what it means to just be.
“I realized the dragon had been waiting—
for me to awaken, and to hear her message when it was time.”
— My heart, today
🌞 Now Available
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