Susan herself had never been to the local waterfalls so this was a new adventure for both of us. We arrived at the first waterfall area, which was quite crowded with tourists even in the light misty rain of the Northwest.  We walked up the trail to the most magnificent waterfall and stood at a lookout point.  I began to use my earth eyes to search out if there were dragons in the stone. Indeed, there was the naga dragon. This dragon shape stretched itself across a ridge of stone at the top of the falls. The waterfalls literally were falling across the dragon’s body.

We moved up the trail to a bridge that crossed the gorge. We were standing there with many other tourists, taking in the sights. Two Japanese men came and stood next to us. Even though I do not know Japanese I can say the word dragon.  I started to say dragon in Japanese, pointing to the rocks. The gentleman understood me perfectly and saw for himself what I was talking about. He became excited and showed his friend. It was time for us to leave but before I left the man bowed to me with fold hands. 

Susan and I decided to travel up the road to look for a waterfall called Horsetail Falls.  I saw a very small sign that said Horsetail and we pulled over and parked the car.  We started on the trail that passed by smaller waterfalls. There were rocks, covered in thick moss and gushing waters from the new rains.  This trail was less traveled. We began to chant a beautiful Japanese mantra to Kannon. 

At one point my girlfriend Christy shared a simple dance to Kannon which blesses the earth but also can heal anything you visualize as you perform the movement. Susan taught me the mantra that went with the dance.

Kwan zeon bowsa

Kwan zeon bowsa

Kwan zeon bowsa

Kwan zeon boooow

We went along the trail, making the simple movements to the mantras. We walked along the winding trail, singing. Every step became a prayer. I had brought a gift to Susan when I arrived, a special incense made in Nepal. This incense was made with precious herbs and resins, used for offerings for the nagas and dragons.  I magically found this incense the night before at a small video store in Ashland in Oregon and I knew it was the perfect gift for my friend.  The container was beautifully made with the painting of a dragon. Susan was carrying it in her backpack like some ancient naga priestess climbing the mountain.  She brought out two incense sticks and we lit them in spite of the wet conditions. We traveled up the road with incense wafting behind us as an offering to the beings in nature and we kept singing along the way. 

Then my inner eyes began to open and I saw a vision of Suzuki Roshi standing on the top of my head as I repeated the mantra.  Even though I had never had physical contact with Suzuki Roshi, repeating this mantra caused his presence to become tangible to me. I felt we truly were being blessed. 

We saw several waterfalls along the way and stopped and made prayers. We had walked about three miles when we turned the corner and suddenly were face to face with a beautiful waterfall cascading down the ridge. In the back of this waterfall was a rock cave. You could walk right behind the waterfall and enjoy the back view.  We approached the falls and there was another dragon head!  The head of the dragon was the beginning of the cave and his tail was the other side of the cave. The cave itself was the belly of the dragon. We walked right into it! We stood behind the waterfall and our mantra changed to a Waterfall Kuan Yin mantra.  This mantra is from a 7^th century text out of China. Both in China and Japan, meditating with waterfalls is used as a spiritual practice.

This mantra helps the chi flow within the physical body. It also can bring a down pouring of spiritual energy upon the practitioner.  The mantra is Namo Long Jyen Gwan Yin. We repeated this over and over as we stood in the belly of the dragon. And then it happened: with my spiritual eyes I saw the waterfall turning into the body of White Robed Kuan Yin. We just kept singing, knowing that this waterfall and dragon was being dedicated to Kuan Yin. Susan and I walked out of the belly of the dragon and in that instant thunder rolled right above us. The prayers were accepted. We walked back in pouring rain, soaked to the bone. We did not care. Kuan Yin was there.

Kanzeon hail Buddha

We are one with the Buddha

Bound to the Awakened One

And to the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha,

We are always joyful and pure,

In the morning thinking of Kanzeon

In the evening thinking of Kanzeo

Continous thoughts rise from the heart

These thoughts never leave our hearts.

Verse from Kannon Sutra