Mizu, Yuzu and Mitsu

kiyumizudera

The temple at Kiyumizudera.

IMG_0992

Reaching out to get some water to drink at the Kiyumizudera.

We got up a bit after  5:00 am, to walk up to Choin-in up the hill from where we are staying for morning services.  It was a rich sound scape, the thunk as we kept the beat for the procession on gourds, the chant, the bells, the sharp clack-clack of the wood blocks, the chirping of the nightingale floor as we moved from one space to another, the ravens cawing in the pre-dawn stillness — and the roar of the motorcycle patrolling the grounds. IMG_0985

IMG_0972

Breakfast!

IMG_0973We had a beautiful breakfast at the temple where we are staying.  Little dishes of salty and savory tastes, miso soup and rice.  And of course, tea.

From there we went to Kiyumizudera, a temple built next to a beautiful spring and with an amazing view of Kyoto.  The streets are crowded with tourists and students, and lots of little shops.  It was hot, so the water (mizu) was incredibly refreshing and the sample of cold yuzu honey (yuzu mitsu) drink was amazing.  We practiced the ritual of washing your hands and rinsing your mouth at various spots.  In my course we have been discussing the body and prayer/meditation.  What are the connections between mind and body and the transcendent in different traditions?  How do we mark boundaries between dedicated contemplative time and daily life?

We walked through Tainaimeguri – pilgrimage through the womb, a short descent beneath a hall in complete darkness.  We’ve talked about James Turrell’s work in my class, about the ways in which light and darkness can be manipulated to change the texture – the set and setting – of a contemplation.

We then went to Honen-in, where we walked through a beautiful moss garden, with many water features and a much quieter spot than Kiyumizudera.

From there we walked up to Ginkakuji, the Silver Pavilion.  We walked up and above the temple precincts, looking down on the gardens below.  Each view elicits a different reaction.

 

 

 

leaf flower water

Water flowing over a carefully aligned leaf at Honen-in

dragon water

Dragon water spout at Kiyumizudera

van water

Van cleanses her hands at the shrine near Kiyumizudera.

IMG_0988

Dawn departures

944577_664366267614_236631823_nWe gathered at Pembroke Arch at 3:45 in the morning.  I watched as groups of students materialized out of the mist, carrying just a single bag.  We had 24 hours of travel in front of us, two bus rides, two plane rides.

We are now tucked away just below Chion-in in Kyoto. Dinner was at a small Japanese place, leave your shoes at the door, sit on a cushion on the tatami.  Then it was a quick walk back, and a chance to try a Japanese bath.  Now we are all looking forward to sleeping horizontally, and (at least some of us) then getting up at dawn again to walk up for a morning ceremony on the temple up the hill.  Konbawa!

Defining silence

wernersvilleWhat does it mean to be mindful, and can we measure it? In Psychology of Mindfulness, we took the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ – an online version can be found here) this week.  The five facets are: observing, describing, non-judging of one’s inner experiences, non-reactivity, and awareness.

Along the same lines in the class on contemplation in the West, we are considering what constitutes elected silence.  Is silence a necessary pre-condition for contemplation?  We have been reading the 4th desert fathers and mothers, including Abba Moses who tells a supplicant “sit in your cell and your cell will teach you everything;” while Amma Syncletica suggests exterior location isn’t the issue, but the interior landscape is: “It is possible to be a solitary in one’s mind while living in a crowd; and it is possible for those who are solitaries to live in the crowd of their own thoughts.”

We are off to mindfully explore silence at the Jesuit Center, a retreat center located about 60 miles northwest of Bryn Mawr, on the grounds of an old Jesuit novitiate. We will spend parts of each day in silence, seeing if we can grasp what is so alluring about silence that for centuries people have left everything behind to seek it.  When we return, we will be reading some narratives of silence.

Poetics of space

Poetic space 2 Poetic spaceThis week in the course on contemplation in the Western tradition we are reading excerpts from Gaston Bachelard’s Poetics of Space.  What is the connection between the spaces we inhabit and our minds? our souls?  How can we read what a space has to tell us? Do spaces have memories? Subtexts? Bachelard is developing a frame for thinking about  such questions.

Class moved outside, testing the ways in which the space shaped our conversation.  This outdoor space was bounded subtly by rugs and chairs, no hard edges.

Later this week, we are off to read a quite different space, a silent monastic experience.