The verse

A far-off spring alone keeps rivers long;Crave not the flood that swells and ebbs in one night.Deep pools store breath through cold and through the heat,And reaching flatlands, eastward the stream runs right.

Reading

This slip bids you nourish the source, not envy waters that rise fast and dry fast. Steep yourself in the deep pool, unshaken through seasons; depth, once gathered, finds its own course. Ask how deep you run, not how far.

The temple keeper adds

A kind sign. The god nodded — small, but real.

[ Draw another at the temple ][ Keep a traffic omamori ]