The red spider lily blooms, and another stretch of worldly splendor comes into view
The flower and leaf of the red spider lily never meet; each meeting marks the end of a stretch of worldly splendor. Flower and leaf do not meet, and to meet is to part. The red spider lily is also known as Manjusaka, and the legend of the red spider lily begins with Manju and Saka.
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Legend says the red spider lily blooms only in the Yellow Springs, and it is generally believed to be the guiding flower that blooms only on the banks of the Sansu River in the underworld and on the far shore of the Wangchuan. The red spider lily is as brilliantly crimson as blood, covering the road leading to hell, and it has flowers but no leaves, making it the only flower of the underworld. The fragrance of the red spider lily is said to have magic power, able to awaken the memories of the dead from before their death.
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Along the road of the Yellow Springs, this flower blooms in great masses, and seen from afar it looks like a carpet spread from blood. Because its red is like fire, it is also called the "road lit by fire," and it is the only scenery and color on this long road of the Yellow Springs. When the soul crosses the Wangchuan, it forgets everything from before death, and all that once was remains on the far shore. The departed then follow the guidance of this flower toward the prison of the netherworld.
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Legend says that long, long ago, the edge of the city was covered with great swaths of red spider lilies, that is, Manjusaka. Guarding the red spider lilies were two spirits: a flower spirit named Manju and a leaf spirit named Saka. They had guarded the red spider lilies for several thousand years, yet had never met, because when the flower blooms the leaves cannot be seen, and when the leaves are present the flower cannot be seen; flower and leaf never see each other and are forever apart. They missed each other madly and were tormented by this pain.
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Finally one day, they decided to violate the god's rule and secretly meet once. That year, the bright red flowers of Manjusaka were set off by striking green, blooming with exceptional, bewitching beauty. The god blamed them, which was also expected. Manju and Saka were cast into reincarnation and cursed never to be together, enduring hardship in the human world life after life. From then on, Manjusaka was also called the red spider lily, meaning a flower that blooms in heaven, its shape like palms praying toward paradise.
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This flower blooms on the road of the Yellow Springs. Each time Manju and Saka are reincarnated and smell the fragrance of the red spider lily on the road of the Yellow Springs, they can remember their former selves, then swear never to part, and in the next life fall once more into the cursed cycle of reincarnation.