It is late afternoon and the orange sun shines its last rays of the day onto the grey sand beach. I lay back into the tiny rocks and broken sea shells and watch the warm water run over my feet and legs. Jiho and Kensan are swimming and I laugh as a flying fish jumps close to Kensan’s head. When Jiho returns to the beach I ask him if flying fish is good for eating, he just shakes his head and smiles at me. I can’t believe I stayed away for so long, what kept me for this place of such beauty, I ask myself, as I walk with the monks back to Syoganji.
This day, as all others at the temple, was an experience of wonder for me. Perhaps this is because I have been living in Leuven, Belgium for the past two years, a place of cobblestone streets and cloud stained skies, ocean and mountains are nowhere nearby. In Japan, I cherish my early morning walks and conversations with the wildlife around me. This time of the year in Saganoseki small crabs are everywhere, as well as some of the most interesting butterflies and dragonflies I have every seen. The summer flowers bloom large in pink, red and white and every now I then I say hello to a small turtle, lizard or frog. After morning mediation, I go on a walk with Jiho to the nearby shrine and run the stairs there, or work in the garden. Sometimes I just spend some quiet time reading.
Today, for lunch we ate some delicious raw vegetables, tofu, rice and sashimi while Kensan and I dialogued about Nietzsche and Heidegger and the import of boredom for self-realization. Jiho discussed his beliefs with us on the Nishi health system and the positive result he has seen from not eating breakfast.
After another delicious but simple meal, the evening ends with a trip to our favourite onsen, the small salt water one close by. Some of the women there know that I am studying Zen at Syoganji and we have some playful conversations in broken Japanese-English while they attempt to teach me the best bathing methods. They congratulate me when they realize I can sink my entire body into the cold onsen without hesitation and we enjoy a few more words before I leave.
It is now nine pm and that sense of wonder is still with me. I listen to the cicadas and frogs and how they take up all the space of the outside night here. It is dark and the air is warm, Jiho and Kensan walk with me back inside the temple and we enjoy the unspoken together before we say goodnight.
