I was on the lower deck of the bus and as we left Namba Bus Terminal and only a few of the 10 seats were occupied. I hoped it would remain that way but after the first stop the remaining seats filled up too. I didn't have the best of seats to start with but I had been sitting reasonably comfortably updating my notes until the person in the seat in front decided to recline it as far back as it would go. This didn't help make the task of updating my notes any easier and after an hour or so of contorting myself this way and that I gave up and put my laptop away. It was just a minor privation but it was also a welcome back to an every day kind of reality. With little else to do, and sleep impossible, I spent the rest of the time just sitting there and thinking. I thought mostly about the people I had met, the many wonderful experiences along the way and what if anything, a second pilgrimage had done for me.
The first pilgrimage had been an incredibly uplifting spiritual adventure. It had simply helped to vindicate a lot of what I had read about in the spiritual books over many years. Enlightenment was never my goal. Uncovering great mysteries was never my goal. If anything, the first pilgrimage did much to enliven my soul and most of all it filled me with an immense sense of gratitude. The reason why I hadn't fully capitalize on what had been an incredibly uplifting journey was simply because I had reverted back to the path of least resistance. The second pilgrimage was to put a stop to a downward spiral that I felt would end in certain oblivion. However, as I sat thinking about these things, my overriding thought was that I had done my second pilgrimage just the way I had wanted to do it and that for me was the most important thing.
As the bus got closer and closer to the reality I had left behind, I sat back and watched the familiar Tokyo landscape passing by outside. It was coming up to 8 o'clock and it had turned into a beautifully sunny morning as the bus passed by the Imperial Palace. The early morning runners were already out doing circuits around the Imperial Palace and life back in Tokyo looked just like it always did. At the Palace Hotel the bus turned towards Nihonbashi and a few minutes later pulled up outside Tokyo Station just like it had done in 2011. In 2011 I had arrived back at the height of the the morning rush hour and rather than squashing myself into a train I had headed for Hibiya Park to wait for the rush hour to die down. I could still remember sitting in the park and thinking how different everything looked. In 2011 I had been looking at the world through 'ohenro eyes' and even though everything looked the same, everything looked strangely different because in the immediate aftermath of that first pilgrimage I definitely felt very different. That was last time, this time as I headed down into a very familiar looking, largely empty Tokyo Metro and boarded my train, the only real change was a renewed sense of calmness. The train was not particularly busy so I just sat and thought about how best I could sum up my journey.
The answer seemed to be a message I had received a few days earlier. The day before I returned back to Ryozenji (#1) I had received a message from Inoue-san, a fellow walking pilgrim who I had been bumping into ever since I first met him on the way to Onzanji (#18) on Day 6. I had last seen him on Day 18 at Kobushinosato Onsen, just after Iwamotoji (#37) and contrary to his usual calm persona, that day he had been in a very despondent mood. He had injured his leg and seemed to think he would have to either abandon his pilgrimage or have to drive the rest of the way. I had just received two brocaded osamefuda at Iwamotoji (#37) a few hours earlier and I had instinctively given him one of them and then repeatedly encouraged him not to give up. Up until I received his message I had no idea what had really happened to him and my hope was simply that he was still proceeding with the pilgrimage. The fact that he had made it to Ōkuboji (#88) was wonderful news and it had added to the series of happy encounters I had experienced the day I returned back to Ryozenji (#1). His simple message was -
I was on the lower deck of the bus and as we left Namba Bus Terminal and only a few of the 10 seats were occupied. I hoped it would remain that way but after the first stop the remaining seats filled up too. I didn't have the best of seats to start with but I had been sitting reasonably comfortably updating my notes until the person in the seat in front decided to recline it as far back as it would go. This didn't help make the task of updating my notes any easier and after an hour or so of contorting myself this way and that I gave up and put my laptop away. It was just a minor privation but it was also a welcome back to an every day kind of reality. With little else to do, and sleep impossible, I spent the rest of the time just sitting there and thinking. I thought mostly about the people I had met, the many wonderful experiences along the way and what if anything, a second pilgrimage had done for me.
The first pilgrimage had been an incredibly uplifting spiritual adventure. It had simply helped to vindicate a lot of what I had read about in the spiritual books over many years. Enlightenment was never my goal. Uncovering great mysteries was never my goal. If anything, the first pilgrimage did much to enliven my soul and most of all it filled me with an immense sense of gratitude. The reason why I hadn't fully capitalize on what had been an incredibly uplifting journey was simply because I had reverted back to the path of least resistance. The second pilgrimage was to put a stop to a downward spiral that I felt would end in certain oblivion. However, as I sat thinking about these things, my overriding thought was that I had done my second pilgrimage just the way I had wanted to do it and that for me was the most important thing.
As the bus got closer and closer to the reality I had left behind, I sat back and watched the familiar Tokyo landscape passing by outside. It was coming up to 8 o'clock and it had turned into a beautifully sunny morning as the bus passed by the Imperial Palace. The early morning runners were already out doing circuits around the Imperial Palace and life back in Tokyo looked just like it always did. At the Palace Hotel the bus turned towards Nihonbashi and a few minutes later pulled up outside Tokyo Station just like it had done in 2011. In 2011 I had arrived back at the height of the the morning rush hour and rather than squashing myself into a train I had headed for Hibiya Park to wait for the rush hour to die down. I could still remember sitting in the park and thinking how different everything looked. In 2011 I had been looking at the world through 'ohenro eyes' and even though everything looked the same, everything looked strangely different because in the immediate aftermath of that first pilgrimage I definitely felt very different. That was last time, this time as I headed down into a very familiar looking, largely empty Tokyo Metro and boarded my train, the only real change was a renewed sense of calmness. The train was not particularly busy so I just sat and thought about how best I could sum up my journey.
The answer seemed to be a message I had received a few days earlier. The day before I returned back to Ryozenji (#1) I had received a message from Inoue-san, a fellow walking pilgrim who I had been bumping into ever since I first met him on the way to Onzanji (#18) on Day 6. I had last seen him on Day 18 at Kobushinosato Onsen, just after Iwamotoji (#37) and contrary to his usual calm persona, that day he had been in a very despondent mood. He had injured his leg and seemed to think he would have to either abandon his pilgrimage or have to drive the rest of the way. I had just received two brocaded osamefuda at Iwamotoji (#37) a few hours earlier and I had instinctively given him one of them and then repeatedly encouraged him not to give up. Up until I received his message I had no idea what had really happened to him and my hope was simply that he was still proceeding with the pilgrimage. The fact that he had made it to Ōkuboji (#88) was wonderful news and it had added to the series of happy encounters I had experienced the day I returned back to Ryozenji (#1). His simple message was -
Dear my friend My name is INOUE. Do you remember me. Finally it is a hot spring facility near 37th temple IWAMOTOJI was met you. I arrived at the 88th temple OKUBOJI by walking today. When I was injured foot, you said me ”Never give up” , and you gave me a lucky item ”OSAMEHUDA”. I was able to work hard in your words and lucky item. Thank you very much. |
I had described ohenro in 2011 with the words "the journey is everyone's journey" and this time, even more than the first, I really understood why I had felt that way. Over the course of 7 short weeks, I had met many people and we had all in some way or other helped each other make our journeys possible. Inoue-san was just one of many but his message seemed to capture what I felt perfectly. More than that, the words 'Never give up' were words I had used to encourage Inoue-san and others that I had met along the way. Ohenro life had been a relatively easy life and now that I was back in the real world again these were words I would also need to heed.