One day, a Samurai warrior approached a Zen-Buddhist master and asked him, "What is Hell and what is Heaven?" The master looked at the Samurai for a moment and then began insulting him. "You are such a dirty, unkempt warrior," the teacher said. "You would never understand anything." The Samurai was overcome by anger and unsheathed his sword, intending to strike down the master for his words. "There!" said the master, "This is Hell." The Samurai had a flash of understanding and was filled with gratitude. He humbly knelt and bowed before the master. "There! This is heaven."

At your feet is a small, pebbled path, winding as it wills across the slope of Mount Daisetsu. All around you shines down comforting sunlight through a canopy of green leaves. The atmosphere is like the safe embrace of a caring friend, and you can almost hear a strange, gentle music playing aloft on the currents of wind. You wonder for a moment where the path is taking you, unsure if you should go any farther, when you see a grove of trees in the distance.

The trees are covered in delicate pink and white cherry blossoms whose petals are tumbling to the ground almost like rain. The flow of them never seems to cease as the petals topple to the ground and then whirl upwards into the air to be carried away along with the distant music you can only hear in the back of your mind.

You pause for a moment, and then almost tentatively decide to enter. Surprisingly enough, you find that the grove is not empty. Sitting among the carpet of blossoms is Korin no Seiji, one of the Samurai Troopers. He looks up at you with a calm violet eye that almost asks, "What took you so long?".

"I was beginning to wonder if you'd make it here at all," Seiji says, his voice echoing like ancient time amidst the grove. He motions for you to sit and you take a seat in the pile of soft petals, somewhat hesitantly.

For a time, all there is is silence between the two of you. The moments seem to slow to a pace which cannot be measured. The tranquility is only broken by a thought which suddenly comes to your mind. "Why was this place created?" you ask softly, not sure whether Seiji will be upset you disturbed the silence.

Seiji smirks, almost like he was just waiting for you to ask the question. "Maybe it's best if I told you what the purpose of this place isn't," he says gently. "The purpose of this place isn't to tell you you're wrong. There are a lot of people in the world who seem to enjoy telling others that they're wrong, which you might have noticed. What that usually amounts to is a lot of bitterness and hatred between people who can't see eye to eye. It also leads to prejudice and violence because people feel they aren't being listened to or understood. Our belief at Mount Daisetsu is that people need to learn to love and understand themselves, and when they have learned that, the rest will come much easier. The meaning of this place, in other words, is to help people realize that they need one another, and that it's important to be kind."

Seiji turns and looks at you directly. "Don't be fooled, however. This is about your own heart and mind. No human can presume to know another's soul in its entirety, for it's always changing and growing. It is only our hope that this place may be a haven of comfort or a place of peace for whoever needs it, if anyone at all." A faint, faint smile traces Seiji's lips and then he turns away again, watching the delicate petals fall all around the two of you. "Sometimes, it's the little things like this that are all we have ..."