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Asuka, Japan

Last week I accompanied the third years on a field trip to Asuka - the old, old capitol of Japan. The day was one of the most pleasurable I've had in a long while. The weather was sunny and in the mid-60's, I didn't have any particular tasks or posts assigned to me, and I was partnered with Julia - who makes for easy conversation. We decided to rent bicycles and rolled through the lush country town, nodding our heads at our students as we passed.

I saw a number of interesting things, including the oldest temple in Japan (although burned and rebuilt many times) which housed the oldest statue of Buddha in Japan. While at this temple, an elderly monk with a bald head and a rounded back corralled us in to give a small speech about the statue. His deliberate, careful speech (translated by Julia) was interrupted when a young Japanese woman started screeching in fear because of a large hornet that had landed on her hip. The monk stopped speaking, picked up a large wooden plaque with elegant sloping characters painted on it, knock the hornet off the woman, and then repeatedly smashed it into the floor of the temple with the broadside off the plaque.

Julia and I both dropped our mouths open wide. The monk looked up and said, "That was one life I had to take."

So much for Zen and the interconnectedness of everything. Julia and I looked sideways at each other, then started laughing. The monk ended his speech, smirking the as we filed past.

Highly amusing.

(As always, click to enlarge)

posted by Scribbler @ Monday, November 14, 2005