{"id":2000,"date":"2015-06-29T11:11:43","date_gmt":"2015-06-29T02:11:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/persimmon-dreams.com\/blog\/?p=2000"},"modified":"2015-06-29T13:12:50","modified_gmt":"2015-06-29T04:12:50","slug":"all-thats-real-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/persimmon-dreams.com\/blog\/2015\/06\/29\/all-thats-real-2\/","title":{"rendered":"All that’s real 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"150606_enkoji_temple_building2_600\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Enkoji<\/p>\n

In early June I needed to go to Kobe for a Sunday afternoon literary event and ended up spending a day and a half walking around Kyoto. Climbed up the mountain from Kurama, walked along the ridge, came down to Kibune, with its maple-lined river, maple-lined avenue, maple-lined everything.<\/p>\n

\"150606_kibune_kawadoko_600\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Kibune<\/p>\n

Peeked into Kibune’s expensive kawadoko<\/em> restaurants in<\/em> the river. Strolled about its many\u00a0small shrines.<\/p>\n

\"150606_cedar_trunk_450\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Kurama<\/p>\n

On the way back downtown went to Enkoji. Had dinner along the Kamo River. The next morning walked the narrow, bamboo-lined, tourist-congested street in Sagano. Walked the quieter grounds of the Okochi Sanso Villa. Had a cup of tea. Sat before the pond in front of Tenryuji Temple.<\/p>\n

Saw lots of pretty faces.<\/p>\n

\"150606_yuki_no_shita_3_600\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Kurama<\/p>\n

And that’s about\u00a0it.<\/p>\n

\"150606_kamogawa_kawadoko_600\"<\/a><\/p>\n

downtown Kyoto . . . the Kamo River<\/p>\n

Maybe the most important thing I can tell you about the trip?<\/p>\n

Well, at the train station in Kibune, all weary-legged, my fellow Hearty Hiker and I had to decide whether to go to a hot springs, or take the train all the way back into town and cool out beside the river . . . or get off before reaching downtown and hike up<\/em> to another spot, a temple called Enkoji. We gave it a good thinking over, let our knees comment freely, then made the no-brainer decision. We could go to a hot springs any time back in Shizuoka. We could cool out any time. The Kamo River would still be flowing through downtown Kyoto after dusk. This might be our only <\/em>chance ever to walk up to Enkoji.<\/p>\n

\"150606_red_parasol_river_600\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Kibune<\/p>\n

That decision made all the difference.<\/p>\n

\"150606_enkoji_wall_screen_600\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0Enkoji<\/p>\n

We were instantly mesmerized by Enkoji. Both of us. But we’d only been there about twenty minutes when we realized if we didn’t head back right away we wouldn’t make our dinner reservations.<\/p>\n

\"150606_enkoji_statue_450\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Enkoji<\/p>\n

Again, a pow wow. Again,\u00a0an easy decision. There were lots of restaurants. We wouldn’t starve. We’d get in somewhere whenever <\/em>we got back to town.<\/p>\n

\"150607_pond__tenryuji1_600\"<\/a>Tenryuji Temple<\/p>\n

And that, too, made all the difference. Really. . . . Trust me.<\/p>\n

The words that follow flowed out from both the suikinkutsu<\/em> (\u6c34\u7434\u7a9f, “a cave of water strings” … my translation, very awkward) at Enkoji—and every other place I’d ever been before and have been after . . . including the lotus pond in my soon-to-be new “neck of the woods.”<\/p>\n

\"150606_suikinkutsu_600\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Enkoji<\/p>\n

Here’s what we heard in Kyoto.<\/p>\nhttp:\/\/persimmon-dreams.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/\u6c344.m4a<\/a><\/audio>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"150606_cedar_roots_sunshine_450\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Kurama<\/p>\n

And here’s more of what we saw in Kyoto, the pictures, as above,\u00a0in no particular order.<\/p>\n

Just Kyoto pictures. No picture of a wasp eating\u00a0a worm, or a cawing crow circling above the traffic.<\/p>\n

\"150606_enkoji_flower_600\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Enkoji<\/p>\n

But those\u00a0can<\/em> be found in previous posts. And of course, so can the lotus flowers.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

ALL THAT’S REAL<\/p>\nhttp:\/\/persimmon-dreams.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/All-Thats-Real-B.m4a<\/a><\/audio>\n

The lotus flower\u2019s veined pink skin<\/p>\n

Is\u00a0lit up bright from within.<\/p>\n

You have to stop and feel amazed–<\/p>\n

It doesn\u2019t burn but stays ablaze.<\/p>\n

Eyes are ears and ears are eyes,<\/p>\n

Helping us to empathize,<\/p>\n

Paradise is what you feel<\/p>\n

And what you feel is all that\u2019s real.<\/p>\n

\"150607_pond__tenryuji_2_600\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Tenryuji Temple<\/p>\n

I step into a temple ground,<\/p>\n

Through a bamboo pole hear a dripping sound.<\/p>\n

A xylophone and a string of bells<\/p>\n

Leap right out of the bottomless well.<\/p>\n

They say a mighty warrior\u2019s tooth<\/p>\n

Is buried here beneath the truth,<\/p>\n

But under the maples I feel no fear<\/p>\n

The moss is green and the sky is clear.<\/p>\n

\"150606_enkoji_green1_600\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Enkoji<\/p>\n

Divide by two, what do you get?<\/p>\n

Damaged hearts, a lot of regret.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re still yourself in disguise<\/p>\n

Sometimes Solomon was pretty wise.<\/p>\n

Paradise is what you see,<\/p>\n

What you see is all you need,<\/p>\n

Just your eyes can make you kneel,<\/p>\n

\u2019Cause what you feel is all that\u2019s real.<\/p>\n

\"150607_bamboo_tea_600\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Okochi Sanso Villa<\/p>\n

A cawing crow is circling high<\/p>\n

Through a field reflecting a rosy sky.<\/p>\n

His mate alights on a telephone pole,<\/p>\n

The traffic below she can\u2019t control.<\/p>\n

Listen to your eyes, loosen your mind,<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t let them tell you that you\u2019re in a bind.<\/p>\n

The dripping water\u2019s a magical force<\/p>\n

Maybe it\u2019s coming from the source.<\/p>\n

\"150606_enkoji_bamboo_450\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Enkoji<\/p>\n

Who\u2019s your enemy? Who\u2019s your friend?<\/p>\n

When will this talk ever end?<\/p>\n

For 2000 years we\u2019ve wondered hard\u2014<\/p>\n

Now we can\u2019t play any card.<\/p>\n

Paradise is what you see,<\/p>\n

What you see is all you need,<\/p>\n

Just your eyes can make you kneel,<\/p>\n

\u2019Cause what you feel is all that\u2019s real.<\/p>\n

\"150606_tangled_roots2_600\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Kurama<\/p>\n

A green worm dines on a fat rosebud,<\/p>\n

A wasp swoops down, you can hear the thud.<\/p>\n

Stormy skies never criticize,<\/p>\n

Thunder and lightning just lullabies.<\/p>\n

Beginnings and endings, right here in the day,<\/p>\n

A dandelion is blown away.<\/p>\n

Background is foreground, forward is back,<\/p>\n

A swallow\u2019s heaven is an empty shack.<\/p>\n

\"150607_sagano_mountainside_temple_600\"<\/a><\/p>\n

from Okochi Sanso Villa<\/p>\n

Who\u2019s your neighbor? Who\u2019s your friend?<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the message you want to send?<\/p>\n

You\u2019ll never be a step ahead,<\/p>\n

Your soul is never in the red.<\/p>\n

Eyes are ears and ears are eyes<\/p>\n

Helping us to empathize,<\/p>\n

Paradise is what you feel<\/p>\n

And what you feel is all that\u2019s real.<\/p>\n

\"150606_enkoji_bamboo2_600\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Enkoji<\/p>\n

\u00a0If you ever visit Enkoji, please say hello to this guy for me. . . . And listen to the water drip!<\/p>\n

\"150606_enkoji_jizo_600\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Enkoji In early June I needed to go to Kobe for a Sunday afternoon literary event and ended up spending a day and a half walking around Kyoto. Climbed up the mountain from Kurama, walked along the ridge, came down to Kibune, with its maple-lined river, maple-lined avenue, maple-lined everything. Kibune Peeked into Kibune’s expensive … Continue reading All that’s real 2<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2000","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/persimmon-dreams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/persimmon-dreams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/persimmon-dreams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/persimmon-dreams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/persimmon-dreams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2000"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/persimmon-dreams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2039,"href":"https:\/\/persimmon-dreams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000\/revisions\/2039"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/persimmon-dreams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2000"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/persimmon-dreams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2000"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/persimmon-dreams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2000"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}