Ryōan-ji, Zenibachi

This water bassin is very famous. The inscription can be interpreted in different ways, e.g.

- what one has is all one needs

- I am content with what I have

- I alone know I am content with things

- if you learn to be content, you are rich in spirit

- I learn only to be contented

- he who learns only to be contented is spiritually rich

- all I know in life is to be contented, to be grateful

- I know only satisfaction

 

"Ryōan-ji (Shinjitai: 竜安寺, Kyūjitai: 龍安寺, The Temple of the Dragon at Peace) is a Zen temple located in northwest Kyoto, Japan. It belongs to the Myōshin-ji school of the Rinzai branch of Zen Buddhism. The Ryōan-ji garden is considered one of the finest surviving examples of kare-sansui ("dry landscape"), a refined type of Japanese Zen temple garden design generally featuring distinctive larger rock formations arranged amidst a sweep of smooth pebbles (small, carefully selected polished river rocks) raked into linear patterns that facilitate meditation. The temple and its gardens are listed as one of the Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto, and as a UNESCO World Heritage Site." (Wikipedia)

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