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A dose of tranquility
Everyone and their mama visits Kinkaku-ji when they're in Kyoto, but don't sleep on Ryoan-ji when you're in the area. You can get there in about 20 minutes on foot from the Golden Pavilion, and it's well worth checking out. Something about the raked gravel stones and the thoughtfully positioned rocks just soothe the mind, so it's a great place for quiet reflection.
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on Jan 3
Visual Zen
The gardens and atmosphere at Ryoanji are a visual representation of Zen. With only a general understanding of Zen you can appreciate the place for its garden architecture, landscaping, and monuments. Before I went, I didn't know much about either Zen or the temple. The karesansui dry landscape garden is startling for its sophistication. The stones are placed in such a way that you cannot take in all of them at once. They're abstract in their arrangement, leaving the viewer to ponder what they represent. Or maybe they don't represent anything at all. The pond and moss glade are visible from the tea house. The tea house serves yudofu. To my mind, the subtlely flavored yudofu hot pot is more experience than gastronomy. It's pilgrim fare that is part of the encounter with the temple and its grounds. In summer, especially Obon season, it's not crowded. You can take your time and it's quiet except for the sounds of insects, birds, and temple routine.
genkidesu
on Sep 27