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Back Home in Kyoto

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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 ...
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Mountain Magic Part I

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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 ...
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Great Buddha Oh How I Love You (aka Nudey Magazine Day)

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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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