Temples, and How!

Bob here. It's early and the monks will start chanting in an hour or so. It's the 750th anniversary of the Shinran Buddhist sect founding, so it's a big year here. 750 years! Buddhism took 1000 years to reach Japan, but it took very strong hold...

This is our third day in Kyoto. Today it's temples and shopping. I found our yakitori place on my walk this morning, so maybe I'll find some takers tonight.

We found a guide via Chris Rowthorn, since I thought there were a couple of places a native speaker would really be an asset. Her name is Mayumi Morooka and she has been wonderful. The first night here she took us through the Geisha quarter, where we had a sublime tempura dinner. Yesterday she took us to Saiho-ji, also known as the Moss Temple and Kokedera by the locals. It's closed to the public, so she paved the way for us with the abbot. We traced a sutra with an inkstone and brush while a Zen monk chanted. The repetition (sp?) of the chant and our brush strokes was transporting in an interesting way. The gardens there are some of the best in Kyoto. As you might imagine, there was moss everywhere, along with water and one waterfall that was designed not to have water (very Zen). Beautiful place, it reminded me of the rain forest in Puerto Rico.

K's House has been great again; I think Cathy's coping with the tatami/futon sleeping arrangement. Keeping her caffeine habit supplied with breakfast at 8 am has been hard. I picked up a cold somewhere along the way, and blowing your nose in public is NOT done, so I'm doing a lot of sniveling.