granniesfromgifu

grannies from gifu                                  Rich rewards upon finally reaching this numerical halfway. The guy whose been chanting since I arrived, the dragon fountain that gurgles like it has a voice, the hannya-shingo scarfed ‘seven dwarfess’ ladies from Gifu – I cant decide which is best. The setting is extremely special – perceptions of height all thrown by numerous gates and flying roofs interspersed by trunks of trees so thick one can never be sure about the top or the bottom of any other. The ladies were a revelation and I felt privileged to observe their ritual and take their picture. Their collective chant was the most powerful I’ve heard yet, rushing from one sutra into the next with different people taking the lead as if the next part were a song they really wanted to sing given the slightest chance in some kind of devotional contest. And of course I shouldn’t forget the electric nokyocho man who pointed and spat out all sorts of things I didn’t fully understand but still allowed me to leave with a feeling of approval. I felt so grateful coming through the gate at the very bottom of the climb and thoughts of Jay and why I might be doing this in a global sense made me strike my  staff down all the firmer. Just need to find a good spot in one of the multiple nearby parks and then I can sleep  with feelings of immense satisfaction.