Being painted by brushes of mountains, by ink of oceans
Heaven and earth are the bindings of a sutra revealing the truth
Kobo Daishi (Kukai) 774-835
We step out onto the Okuden’s [inner hall’s] front porch. The immense stone garden spreads before us and around us to either side. It is composed of 2,340-square meters of raked white sand carefully punctuated by one hundred and forty stones. No two stones are alike in shape, colour, or texture. Some are quite massive. All were brought from Köbo Daishi’s home island of Shikoku. From this vantage point we can see the garden’s simulation of two giant dragons, long rough bodies partially lost in the cloud of sand, protectively surrounding the spot where we stand.
Philip L Nicoloff – Sacred Koyasan
