May 3 cont...
We were all surprised when the older gentleman coming toward us on a scooter, who we all got into single file to make way for, pulled over in the middle of the little country lane, turned his motor off and removed his helmet.
He reminded me immediately of a hard case Kaumatua (Maori Elder) so I stood back to watch what was sure to be a fascinating encounter.
Sure enough, he talked animatedly and waved his arms dramatically for the next 20 minutes with my humble friends ahsoing and nodding reverently as if they were being told the method Kobo Daishi himself had used to build the very bridge we were so auspiciously standing right beside.
He then got off his scooter and went around us all, one by one, brushing our heads, shoulders and sides with a swatch of something, (doing what Yahiro San referred to soon after as a Mysterious Blessing) after which we bowed our appreciation.
Finally he nodded, satisfied, as if to say 'My job is done here', put on his helmet, mounted his scooter and charged off.
I didn't really find out what he was telling them (I'm not positive my friends understood either) but one piece of advice they were happy about was, upon arriving at our lodging at temple 6, we should leave our bags behind then walk to temple 7 and would be back in time for dinner.
All I heard was 'leave our bags behind'.
Now they were speaking MY language!
TEXT...
Rachel Tempest to EL:
We're all enjoying sharing yr txts :-/ prhps u need to phase out th sake more slowly ;-)...
1 comment:
Sweet thing! I laugh, I cry, I learn... you make the journey towards enlightenment seem so real and unpretensious. You struggle with all the fears that keep me from taking the first step on my own journey... and you keep going, with humility and humour that does a buddhist nun justice. You may have been wearing the clothes for quite a while, but your story proves that it's been more than a costume.
Post a Comment