Mythical mountains are often recreated in the gardens of Kyoto. Here we see one of the gardens of Ryogen-in, a subtemple of Daitoku-ji. The tallest stone in the garden is Mt. Sumeru. Surrounding it are three formations of sacred rocks, and the moss which represents the vast ocean.

This mythical mountain, which is said to be as much as 700,000 miles tall and represents the absolute humanity that we all innately posses, can be best summarized in the following Zen koan and the commentary which follows it by Zensho W. Kopp in his book “The Freedom of Zen”.

Mt. Sumeru jumps up and dances.

“What?” A mountain jumps up and dances? What does this mean? In Buddhism, Mt. Sumeru is the center of the universe. This center is at the same time the core of your being, and thus the all-encompassing whole in which everything is contained.

Mt. Sumeru is everything- the entirety. It is your true self and the boundless truth of the divine being. Ageing, despair, illness, pain, and death; coming and going, diversity and unity- the entire dream of existence and non-existence dissolves and “Mt. Sumeru jumps up and dances”.

I am Mt. Sumeru! You too are Mt. Sumeru! There is no other Mt. Sumeru. We are Mt. Sumeru, for nothing exists besides the true self. The moment you awaken from the dream of “I” and world and space and time, thre is nothing other than your original face before your birth.