As we drove along, they chatted and I kept chanting the sutra then at each Temple, Narabe San would say the whole Hanya Shinkyo until he came to the part he had taught me, when he would slow down, leaning toward me indicating that I was to join in. I got tongue tied with the foreign words not wanting to work in my mouth but everytime we got back in the car, I would keep chanting it quietly, determined to get it.
At one stage we were going up a precariously narrow mountain road when we met a four wheel drive coming down the other way. In pulling over to allow it to pass we slid off the side of the road, coming to rest against the barrier.
O'Sha San and Narabe San just laughed and in a feat that was nothing short of miraculous, O'Sha San managed to carefully back up and not only get out of the mud we had been stuck in, but do it without a scratch on the car from disentangling from the barrier!
We meandered around Temples 28 and 29 then after Temple 30, I said “Wow! Arigato" And asked again about bus/train/hotel?
Narabe San pointed to O'Sha San and said “He drive you to Temple 36”.
I was overcome with amazement and was speechless. I sat in the back racked with noiseless sobs.
180kms and 8 hours of driving, getting in and out in the rain, walking up countless stairs, waiting patiently as I got stamps and helping me with the sutra - through 9 Temples.
9 Temples!
This was the most overwhelmingly generous thing anyone (any two!) had ever done for me (and I’ve had generosity showered upon me all my life), and I didn’t know what to say but I had to find a way of saying something.
I rang Akemi San, then Taichi San with no luck.
Next I rang Chiharu in New Zealand and asked if she would translate for me. She said she would be happy to.
Through tears and a tight throat of emotion, I said that there were no words to express how grateful I was and that I would remember this day for the rest of my life, then I handed the phone to Narabe San (O'Sha San was navigating yet another steep hillside climb). Like everything else, he took it in his stride without fuss, laughed and talked to Chiharu then handed the phone back to me.
I thanked Chiharu profusely then asked her what he said to her. She told me he was very happy to do it then she said “You’re lucky – he’s a very kind man!”. Which set me off again.
As Narabe San was telling O'Sha San what Chiharu said, I was saying thankyou and goodbye because we had reached another temple.
It was a challenge switching back into ritual mode...
A favourite of Narabe Sans
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