1 Chen Zachary
Walking to Tisch Library after class, I saw a stranger take a picture of the sun.
The snow-covered ground,
We stand on the hill
And watch the sun set
The tension between evanescence and form is an interesting one. The poem by Dōgen is helpful in understanding the relationship between the two; while the seasons are always changing and transitioning into the next, there exists a “fixed pattern or form” that marks the changes (Inouye 1). Form is molded from the evanescence and brings about order. If the winter was warm or if the cherry blossoms stayed year round, it would be difficult to clearly say “This is winter!” The practice of koromo gae, the seasonal change of wardrobes, as well as the changing of menu makes sense in this context. To have a specific wardrobe worn no matter the actual weather, and to have a children’s song repeatedly declaring “Spring has come, spring has come” is as important to the form of spring as much as the bird songs and cherry blossoms (Inouye 9). The existence of kata enforces a normality upon hakanasa.