Happy Lutheran

Today I checked out of my ryokan in the Gion district, and moved over to the Monbou Kaikan, a hotel that is right next door to the Nishi Hongwanji, the mother temple for Jodo Shinshu Buddhism. A colleague from the GTU who teaches at the nearby Ryukoku University [a Jodo Shinshu school], helped me check…… Continue reading At the Monbou Kaikan

I forgot the monkey picture that goes with the last post! Here it is, along with a close-up of the toilet features I mentioned yesterday.

I admit it: I was a little lonely on my birthday today. Even though I am the luckiest person in the world to have this travel fellowship for my sabbatical, and I am so, so grateful, and feel so, so blessed–I still missed John and Henry today. Home with them is better than anywhere else…… Continue reading Foxes and Balls

First, toilets. Toilets are ritzy in Japan. Not only the toilet in my nice hotel room, but most/many public toilets, too. Case in point: the seat is heated. Boy is that nice at 2 in the morning. Along with the heat comes a complicated menu of bidet features, which, frankly I can’t even figure out…… Continue reading Apropos of Nothing

As I have been in Kyoto these past few days, I have been thinking about dear Scott from our Israel trip, who, every time Marty asked if we enjoyed our day, would say, “Today was my favorite day!” That’s exactly how I feel here every day, too–although so far, today really has been my favorite…… Continue reading I May Have Overshot….

The morning dawned bright and clear–it is going to be another gorgeous day. I have been running at 6:00 every morning, and it has been fabulous. Lots of others are on the river path, too–running, walking, biking, and walking dogs. I was told that a great Buddhist teacher used the flowing Kamo River as an…… Continue reading Running along the Kamo River

I have officially put Kyoto on my short list of very favorite cities in the whole wide world! (She says confidently, having seen, oh perhaps .0001% of the world’s cities….). Ignorance notwithstanding, I still can say I love Kyoto more than many, many other places I have been–somehow it nurtures and facilitates my favorite ways…… Continue reading I Think I’m in Love….

Well, I finally made it to Kyoto today, and I must say, it exceeds even my high expectations–it is just as beautiful, interesting and stimulating as I had hoped it would be. The hardest thing is going to be prioritizing–even with my energetic schedule, it is going to be hard to see everything I want…… Continue reading Kyoto, Finally!

One of the things we did today–it was actually the first thing–was visit Okunoin cemetery. There are over 200,000 gravestones here, and that’s not counting all the smaller, anonymous ones that have been buried over the centuries. The oldest monuments date back to the 11th century, and there is a newer area, where contemporary companies…… Continue reading A Cemetery Worth its Own Post

Let me start by saying more about Shingon Buddhism. Basically, Shingon Buddhism, a form of tantric Buddhism that came to Japan from India via China, teaches that everyone can attain enlightenment in this lifetime, through special ritual practices, mantras, and meditation. It is transmitted personally, from teacher to student, and in this way, disciples are…… Continue reading Out and About in Koyasan