🔎 Introduction
🌿 In this reflective and poetic writing, Master Woo Myung describes the rhythm of the four seasons — spring, summer, fall, and winter — as a mirror of human life.
Through vivid village scenes, fields, mountains, and changing weather, he reveals how nature flows effortlessly according to universal order, while human beings struggle within division and illusion. 🌎
From the cycles of barley fields and harvest festivals to distant lands with different climates, this writing expands toward a greater vision — a world where mankind becomes one beyond national divisions.
The four seasons become a metaphor for the journey of life and the unity of humanity.
ORIGINAL WRITING BY MASTER WOO MYUNG
Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter
On a bright spring day, a heat wave undulates;
a person comes bearing an a-frame on his back
laden with the azaleas he has picked.
The single ladies who have gone to forage for wild edible herbs
pick wild chives and mugwort leaves in a neighboring village field,
and come back bearing huge filled baskets on their heads.
The married women of the village are doing their laundry in a rocky spring
and thanks to the spring air, all sorts of things are sprouting by the stream.
When warm spring comes,
men walk in the furrows between the barley fields;
worried that its house built there will come to harm,
a lark cries from up in the sky.
Once in a while, cars pass by on the new unpaved road,
raising up a cloud of dust.
Near the river, there are people digging for clams
while the single men and women catch chickens to cook porridge
and partake in a traditional pastime of looking at flowers
and eating flower pancakes.
There are girls swinging on a tree swing, wearing brightly colored han-bok clothing.
(The rest of the original text continues unchanged…)
When I was younger, I often went hiking,
and in my own way, thought a lot about the futility of life.
The mountain scenery was always different,
in spring, summer, fall and winter,
no matter how often I went.
Famous mountains gained their fame
for being similar to the haunts of divine beings.
I come from a small country,
and to me, America seems so big and wide.
Here in this place, my will, my purpose, will be fulfilled:
A world without divisions between nations is being made,
and mankind will become one.
– Woo Myung
🌿 Reflect at Santa Clara Meditation
At Santa Clara Meditation, practitioners reflect on how nature moves without conflict, division, or greed, while human beings struggle within separation and national identity. 🌎
Just as the four seasons flow harmoniously, humanity too can move toward unity.
The deeper message of this writing is not only about changing seasons, but about a coming age where mankind becomes one beyond borders, living in harmony with universal order.
