I’m on the road again. The day started out with a light drizzle turning into a torrential downpour. (Cars don’t slow down when they past you, so every time a car approaches one has to turn slightly away as it will inevitably go through a puddle as it passes.)
I got to the bottom of mountain where Temple 20 (Kakuriji) is situated and luckily there was a FamilyMart. I got a hot coffee and called a cab. There is uncomfortable and then there is UNCOMFORTABLE. I am choosing the Buddhist middle way and going for uNcOmFoRtAbLe.
I kept the cab waiting while at Kakuriji, and had it take me to the bottom of the cable car at Temple 21 (Tairyuji). It was still raining pretty hard when I got on the cable car to go back down… but it stopped raining and the sun came out once I was at the bottom of the mountain. Go figure!
I ended the day visiting Temple 22 (Byodoji) which is known for curing all sorts of sickness. This is where the charm I bought at Temple 9 (Horinji) – known for curing leg ailments – broke and I got a new charm for good mind and body.
On my walk today, I met a man named March from Taiwan who told me that there used to be 88 temples in Taiwan dedicated to Kobo Daishi, but now there are only 3. He also told me there is a Temple in Fukuoka dedicated to Kobo Daishi – I had no idea! Fukuoka is the point Daishi returned to Japan from China.
If you have been following me from the beginning of this Pilgrimage, you might have noticed I had mislabeled one of my posts… apparently I skipped Day 3… it is now numbered correctly…I hope.
KotsuKotsuLife 