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 ...
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