Walking and Praying

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Fayan was going on pilgrimage. Dizang said, “Where are you going?” Fayan said, “Around on pilgrimage.” Dizang said, “What is the purpose of pilgrimage?” Fayan said: “I don’t know.” Dizang said, “Not knowing is most intimate.” Book of Serenity, Case 20 My Zen friends are chuckling. This is one of the most referenced—okay, maybe the…

This post will be short on words and long on images. Three days in Kyoto have provided all the medicine my being needed to recover from the rigors of the past few weeks, restore my spirit to and through appreciation and wonder, and perfectly seal this remarkable journey of walking and praying in some of…

I’ve largely tried to steer clear of the “weird Japan” genre of posts, however tempting, but when “Edelweiss” blared across the massive town speakers at 6a.m. sharp in the tiny village where we were staying, at “there’s an imminent natural disaster” volume—on Sunday morning, to boot—i couldn’t resist. “Every morning you greet me”—get it? The…

A couple of days ago, the decision was made to leave the pilgrimage early. I use the passive voice, because I can’t say the decision was really mine. But I also can’t say it’s the wrong decision. My shins benefited from a few days of near total rest, and no longer swell alarmingly when we…

There’s all kinds of lore associated with eclipses, but, regardless of whether you believe any of it, one thing they can do is remind us that we’re part of a larger system than the little planet-world we ride around on.  They can also be a great reminder that even when things feel pitched suddenly into…

Day 21 was such a strange mix, after the sweetness of Day 20. We started the day early, walking to a highway rest stop to meet Matsushita-San, hereafter M, who is one of the great heroes of the Shikoku Henro trail, who was planning to join us for our 29-km day and our two-day out-and-back…

We’ve just finished day 20 of our 45 day pilgrimage, and we’re deep into what I recently heard someone refer to as “the heart of the walk.” The designation makes a kind of sense. We’re tracking toward the southwest corner of the island, having started in the Northeast. We’re close to halfway done, both day-…

Osettai is the practice of giving gifts to Henro. It takes many forms, from money to food to rides and much more. On the one hand, this is encouragement to us humans walking the path. On the other, we are seen by some island residents as Kōbō Daishi in disguise, and giving to Henros is…