Hasu Transitoire (The Transient Lotus)

Sept. 14 It's the end of the trip, and due to exhaustion and laziness I am losing the motivation to write detailed accounts of my days, thus here I offer only tidbits: - Moved across town into old house with tatami floors, detached toilet and shower, and small rock garden. I am so in love with this house! - Private tour at Ginkakuji of oldest tea house in Japan - Lunch of Yamakake cha-udon (green tea infused noodles, grated mountain potato, raw egg, seaweed served cold) - Strolling the Philosopher’s trail - Walking through cemetery at Hōnen’in - Rock garden at Nanzenji - People watching atop the great south gate at Nanzenji while looking out over all of Kyoto - Shopping the outdoor food market near Teramachi…quite a sight! - Dinner and sake (surprised?) with Cynthea: think fresh watermelon, carrots, cucumber dipped in sea salt and sweet miso, nasu dengaku (my favorite dish of ...

Sept. 13 The morning agenda was taking a bus to Daitokuji, a famous Rinzai Zen temple, and visit several gardens on the grounds. After walking to several bus stops and watching several full buses pass by with no room for 18 Americans we finally arrived. I took the lead and followed three male pilgrims up to the main gate, finding myself quite amused at the image of these three men dressed in traditional garb (they could have actually been from the 16th century I think) walking alongside a young girl in a short minidress and tall boots whose hips swung side to side with each step. I probably giggled out loud at least a few times. The man at the main booth pretended to not understand my Japanese, and I kept hearing strange Eastern European languages whispering by, coming from a never ending stream of ungainly and gangly tourists I wanted so badly to distance myself and our whole group from. Thankfully there was a tea ceremony at Daitokuji this day, so these two unpleasant points were ...

Sept. 11 Somehow it feels easier to wake up at an ungodly hour like 5 o’clock AM than at a semi-normal hour like 7. At least that is the justification I used to get my ass out of bed in what seemed like the middle of the night. Besides, I was excited for the morning’s adventure – the goma (fire) ritual at Muryōkōin, a nearby temple devoted to performing the otherwise monthly ceremony on a daily basis. As I exited the main doors, I was first struck by the moon still hanging high in the sky. The sky was not yet blue and a fiery lining clung to the distant clouds, the sun beginning its ascent. As we walked down the empty streets of Kōya, a blue shade followed us, illuminating the still-sleeping shops and houses. Before we stepped into the well smoked ritual room of Muryōkōin the sky had achieved a perfect state of quiet morning beauty. The dark cave-like room instantly transformed that image into a mere memory. All that was visible now was golden lanterns engraved with memorial ins...

Sept. 9 I left Nara with an aching foot, shoulder, shin, and kneecap. Not to mention the equally injurious hangover. Let’s skip to something good…we were headed to Mt. Kōya! The beautiful mountain scenery on the trainride cleared my bad mood. I looked out at ancient tombs and wrote poetry. Civilization gradually turned to mountain vistas, and we passed through at least ten tunnels on our way up the mountain. The final push to the top required a short but impossibly steep cable car ride. I had another of those how-the-hell-did-anyone-establish-a-temple-complex-here moments. Short bus ride to Henjōkōin where Takayama-san, head temple administrator, greeted us with rosy cheeks and a huge smile. One of my favorite things about visiting temples in Japan is the happy-go-lucky demeanor of most people who reside therein. Inner peace and contentment really shines in their faces. We were led past an unbelievable garden that rose into the steep hillside to our tatami rooms on the second ...

Sept. 8 Our last day in Nara consisted of a day trip to Hōryūji and its sub-temple Chūguji out in the Yamato plain. I donned my new floppy hat (best 600 yen purchase ever!) once more to beat the scorching heat and mentally prepared myself for the tiring adventure ahead. An hour long bus ride through sleepy suburbs and rice fields and we alighted from the bus and walked to the south gate through a tree-lined path that quite reminded me of CSU’s oval for some reason. Packs of anxious school kids were already appearing from every feasible nook and cranny, and we snaked through the burgeoning uniformed crowds (and a delightfully friendly group of Korean tourists!) toward the western part of the complex, where the yumedono (octagonal “dream hall”) and former convent lie. As we walked a narrow corridor most of us were singled out by an eager Korean tourist for conversation. I was the target of an adorable elderly man who must have been half my size. I mistakenly started speaking to ...

Sept. 7 Tōdaiji day! Tōdaiji day! I was as excited as Billy Madison was to receive his nudie magazines when sensei changed the schedule (to accommodate the injured ones and stay closer to home) around and decided we would go to Tōdaiji on this day. It is one of the most important early Buddhist sites, and home to mind-boggling architecture, statuary, bronze cast images, etc. – truly a scholar-nerd’s dream! We set out early, and Cynthea remarked that with my floppy hat and flowy dress I looked like I was heading out for a Phish concert (a compliment, I do believe).  We toured the ordination hall first, and then navigated the back section of the huge complex, past a lovely pond where a deer was taking a morning dip, and by the Shōsōin (treasure storehouse) where countless artifacts stood the test of time relatively unscathed.  Next we arrived at the Nigatsudō (Second Month Hall) and ascended the stone steps where once a year, in the second lunar month, monks run up with fiery ...