Kotowaza (Japanese proverb)
Mood:  lyrical
Tateba shakuyaku (Stand upright like a special BONSAI AZALEA)
Suwareba botan (Sit like a PEONY)
Aruku sugata wa urie no hana. (Walk gracefully like a flower)

Well, that’s as close as i can get to a translation.
My friend at school taught me this poem. She says she pictures the woman in Casa Blanca when she recites this poem.

Jr. Hi. End of Term Testing
Mood:  lazy
Ok, so i will try to explain testing in my school. Last week there were no after school activities so that the students could study for their end of the term tests this week. On Wednesday and Thursday the kids come to school at 8:30 am as usual. They have three 50-minute classes in which they take 3 tests. Then they go home at around noon (to study for the next day’s tests). The teachers have no classes in the afternoon. On Friday this is repeated with a slightly different variation. After the final three tests the kids have a school lunch. Then there is a period in which everyone cleans the school. Then they have a homeroom class in the afternoon and then after school activities (clubs) begin again. This is repeated at the end of each term (there are three terms here in Japan)

I am convinced that this is a typical example of a talent the Japanese seem to have of doing only one thing at a time. I haven’t reached such a level of one-pointed attention but that’s the way it’s done here. By the way, i have been paid to work every single day with no scheduled classes. Boring.

Rice Paddy Reminiscing
Mood:  suave
A snowy white crane stands silently knee deep in water in the middle of the rice field near my school. She/he is statuesque but periodically gulps a frog or two for breakfast. How i will miss the sight.

Gardenias in the air
Mood:  special
Some people complain about the humidity here but…
running along the Shyukugawa River today was the most amazing experience. Because of the humidity the scent of the gardenias along the trail seemed to transport me to another universe. I think that i actually was breathing their fragrance through every pore in my body. Awesome!

Hikingu
Mood:  energetic
Hiking with Shinobu and Miki T. This hike is funny because it was supposed to be a ?Swinging Singles? group. Miki would really like to have a boyfriend. I was trying my hardest to arrange a Gokon (a meeting of many single people ? kind of like a big blind date). Anyway, all our lonely, single guy friends were either too shy or too lazy to go hiking with us. It was their loss. We had a great time.

We traveled by train to the northwest part of Kyoto - Arashiyama. We passed Kanou temple, Toriihon, Ochiai bridge, Kiyotaki, Jingo, Saimei, and Kouzan temples. At Jingoji temple Shinobu and i hiked to an overlook where we threw tiny clay plates with all our might. They cost 100 yen ($1) each. It is said that if you throw the plate hard enough your wishes will come true. Well, it must have worked because i can?t imagine anything better than this hike today. It?s warm, about 30 degrees (87 Fahrenheit). The humidity is probably about 50%. There are picnics on the shore and a few brave swimmers. The water is clear and cool. I only wish we had brought swimsuits. Ah, well, still a great day.

In search of Fireflies
Mood:  bright
What an amazing evening.
More later.
Just like watching a bunch of Tinkerbells!

Art in Junior High
Mood:  surprised
Yesterday our wonderfully enthusiastic, creative, boisterous art teacher brought in another one of his artworks. I?m pretty sure that he uses them for inspiration and models for his art students. He always makes sure to show them to me. He is a talented sculpture. We have a giant set of bare feet in wooden sandals in our hallway for example. He also brought in an electronic but detailed hand that sensed movement and wiggled its fingers and looked like it was playing a piano ? so funny. I have seen drawings, watercolors, sketches and more. This time he surprised me. The piece was a bust of his wife ? nude! Oh, my, i wonder what would happen if a junior high art teacher brought in a bronze nude bust of his wife! Sad to say that we in the U.S. are so paranoid that people would probably think that he was a child molester. How sad that an art teacher in the states is so restricted because of our prudish ideas of sex.
Art can express beauty. It takes many forms and the human body is truly beautiful. I hope that we in the U.S. can one day look upon the human body with appreciation and drop the embarrassment and shame, which is a remnant of our puritanical past.

Goodbye's are beginning
Mood:  blue
Saturday, June 11th, was probably my last visit to Kyoto. How sad.
I stopped by for one last bow at the Nishi Hongwanji (Jodo Shinshu?s Mother temple) and there was a service going on. What an eerie sound the flutes and other instruments produce! When i close my eyes it sends me to Tibet. Weird. A few tears came as i bowed out for the last time. I will miss the feeling of kneeling on tatami in such an ancient edifice and listening to a service whose roots go back hundreds of years. It?s a powerful, wonderful experience.


I managed to find the little shop that hand makes ojuzu (probably the world?s first rosary beads). I had a wristband restrung (i?d bought it when i first arrived in Japan). Now i had to choose the perfect ojuzu as a present to myself. I chose some cat-eye beads from So. Africa. It was a difficult decision. He had some gorgeous fossil beads that were such a work of art but a bit out of my price range. I did a whirlwind shopping spree for some gifts for the temple and friends back home and then off to meet my meditation buddies for a ?goodbye? lunch. Somehow we will rendezvous again either in California at the Meditation Retreat Center or back in Japan. Who knows what is in the future, but we will see each other again. I am sure of it.


Temple this Sunday morning in Nishinomiya was extra special. One of the gentlemen who lives just a few doors away brought his video camera and taped the whole service. Toyohara-sensei chanted the whole Wasan, which is a very long sutra just because i had requested it. We had been trying to learn it when i left Spokane 2 years ago. Now we will be able to follow along with him and really get it right. Also, it will be so wonderful for everyone at our little Buddhist Temple in Spokane to be able to hear and see an authentic Buddhist service from Japan. After the service the ladies asked me to stay. There was a lovely breakfast for one of the members who had been in the hospital for the last 3 months. They welcomed her back with coffee, croissants, a luscious custard cup, and a cream pastry. Well there goes my low-fat breakfast idea! Hah. I got some lovely photos of everyone. We even took some photos inside the temple of the Toyahara family. I am so pleased. I had asked if i could get some photos of ?The Boss? as he calls himself. I will miss this spiritual family. Even though i can?t speak their language well our hearts and spirits are united. What a great feeling.

The Rainy Season Begins
Mood:  on fire
It's 88 degrees today and 45% humidity. Hotsui!
The rainy season is kicking in.
Thunderstorms and rain are predicted tomorrow.
Goodbye cool evenings and sunny days.

Ah, well, we knew this wonderful springtime weather couldn't last.

Dental Health Day
Mood:  incredulous
Yesterday we had “surume” (squid) in our school lunch. It was fried with egg and onion in a tempura. I really had trouble chewing it, but it was delicious. Today the nutritionist told me that they are doing dental check-ups today and that they intentionally cooked surume to have the kids practice “chewing” at lunch! What a clever idea!