Higashi-Honganji Temple

can i get an amen? 

sakura

ah yes, the season of the cherry blossom. Kyoto is buzzing with tourists here to see the blossoms. People walk around the park for hours studying and soaking in the beauty of each unique flower. 

OG Pigeon Lady at Higashi-Honganji Temple. I stayed several nights at a hostel that was down the block from this massive temple. A nice sight to walk by everyday. 

This is a 300 year old section of a houseboat (boathouse). It is trimmed in gold leafing. This was at the Sorakuen garden in Sanomiya (downtown), Kobe. The garden was built by the mayor of Kobe in the 19th century to be his primary residence. It spanned a couple of acres and included several houses, a lake with 80 year old coi fish, a palm garden, and beautifully pruned old trees. Quite the estate to be located downtown 

Box displaying all the different types of moss at Ginkaku-ji. there were about 3 sets of boxes, and above this particular one a sign read "Very Important like VIP!" 

view of Yasaka Tower from the Festival of Lanterns on Jingu-michi street

  

Ikuta Shrine in Kobe

  

Nyakuoji Shrine

  

Ginkaku-ji temple

  

roots baby

the old old trees at Nanzen-ji temple

A Day in the Life...

Its 8am and everyone else in the room i was sharing is awake. In a dorm room at the Costa Del Sol guesthouse, Kyoto, Japan, I linger in bed catching a last glimpse of the familiar faces in my dreams and then im up. it looks like it might snow today so I bundled up. After a brisk walk through the tiny alley ways i make my way to the pastry shop on the corner for a warm croissant. Im off to the bus stop to catch the next bus to Ginkakuji temple. Wow. I am stunned at how simple, perfect and real this place feels. Im searching for words that could do a zen garden justice, but im at a loss right now. i:ll post some pictures. Slowly strolling on the paths i soak it all in. the patterns, the patience, the coexistence, the integrity.

Ok...the day is geting warmer and its time to start walking on Tetsugaku-no-michi (Philospher's Path). Its a 6km long stone path along an old aquaduct where 20th century philosopher Nishida Ditaro is said to have meandered along the path "lost in thought." I can feel why. Several of the side streets are littered with little shops and of course i visit each one, but i have yet to buy anything. I visit several other temples and a few shrines that are short walk from the path- Anrakuji Temple, Nyakuoji Shrine, Eikando Temple...to name a few. The sounds of slurpling and the scent of hot soup lure me into a little Udon house with enough seats for about 10 people. SO GOOD! Next temple is Nanzen-ji, probably my favorite one. I spent several hours wandering around, following the waterways. It starts to flurry with some afternoon snow. priceless.

The sun starts to set and i notice the path is lined with lanterns. Just my luck, its the last day of the festival of lanterns. Walking down the stone laiden street Jingu-michi, i spot a businessman accompanied by a geisha. hmm, once again hard to think of words to describe such a special and beautiful sight. I pass the strikingly lit Yasaka Shrine and tower and make my way to the heart of downtown Kyoto- Gion. Huge boulevards, neon, lanterns, shops, PEOPLE! in between the main streets are the old little alley ways that twist and wind around. I notice another geisha flip flopping her way down the street to an appointment.

I subway it back to the hostel where the hostel manager and his buddy are about to go get some Ramen. perfect timing. We pile in his old VW Bug and listen to Janis Joplin on our way there. I LOVE RAMEN....not the cup of soup style, im talking about the real deal. we waited in line outside the small restaurant for 15 min before we were sat. im hooked.

back at the hostel im in the mood for a bath. Around the corner is the Hakusan-yu Sento (public bath house). I pay my 370￥and take my time in the different tubs and sauna. When i walked into the sento, it was like the women in there had seen a ghost. i think i am the only blonde that has EVER stepped into that place. I just ignored the stares and relaxed while reflecting on my day.

and the lights are out by 1am. phew!

the friendliness card

one of the last days in sf, my partner pulled the friendliness card from our osho tarot deck, and i thought i'd share it with you.

"first meditate, be blissful, then much love will happen of its own accord. then being with others is beautiful and being alone is also beautiful. then it is simple, too. you don't depend on others and you don't make others dependent on you. then it is always a friendship, a friendliness. it never becomes a relationship, it is always a relatedness.
you relate, but you don't create a marriage. marriage is out of fear, relatedness is out of love. you relate; as long as things are moving beautifully, you share. and if you see that the moment has come to depart because your paths separate at this crossroad, you say goodbye with great gratitude for all that the other has been to you, for all the joys and all the pleasures and all the beautiful moments that you have shared with the other. with no misery, with no pain, you simply separate." -osho

notes on the actual card itself which depicts two flowering trees with their ranches mingling in the wind:
"the branches of these two flowering trees are intertwined and their fallen petals blend together on the ground in their beautiful colors. it is as if heaven and earth are bridged by love. but they stand individually, each rooted in the soil in their own connection with the earth. it this way they represent the essence of true friends, mature, easy with each other, natural. there is no urgency about their
connection, no neediness, no desire to change the other into something else.
this card indicates a readiness to enter this quality of friendliness. in the passage, you may notice that you are no longer interested in all kinds of dramas and romances that other people are engaged in. it is not a loss. it is the birth of a higher more loving quality born of the fullness of experience. it is the birth of a love that is truly unconditional, without expectations or demands."

i am grateful for the love, respect, and support my tribe has unconditionally offered to me. my family is in my heart always, and i will walk this earth in search of you, to inspire you, to learn from you, and to find new ways to serve this evolving tribe. in the name of the light, i am your warrior.