New Years Blanket of Snow The blanket of snow Covering everything. Everything is fresh, Everything is pure, Everything is new, Everything is the same. Our Heart soars with Joy. Underneath the blanket of snow, Everything is unchanged, Frozen in time, Waiting patiently until the snow melts. New Years often brings the snow season. When there is a snowstorm everything is covered with a wonderful blanket of snow. When we look at this snow, everything becomes fresh, pure, new and it is all equal. As we celebrate New Years, we are celebrating these wonderful attributes. We are facing a new Year that is equal. Our hope for a wonderful New Year for ourselves, our family, friends and all of humanity create a "blanket of snow." Life is equal through this hope. Our spirit knows no limit as we see life as potential rather than ordinary. The realm of the Buddhas is the same as this world during the New Year. The Buddha realm is limitless and it is only our perspective that cannot see beyond the ordinary. The potential is there each moment to see life as pure, as fresh, as new and as equal. For the New Year try to lengthen your view and see this wonderful world of Buddhas that surrounds our body and sustains our heart and mind. Rev. Eijun Eidson December 1998 ©1998, 1999 Shingon Buddhist International Institute