Saturday Strange

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Here's something for Saturday Strange.

I taught English in Kyoto, Japan for a year.  I loved visiting Buddhist temples and had a favorite up in the mountains above Ohara.  It was a small temple, kind of hidden and didn't get a lot of tourists.  I went up there often because it was so old, beautiful, and peaceful.

http://rubens.anu.edu.au/htdocs/bycountry/japan/kyoto/ohara/Raigo_in/index.html

So, my fiancé came to visit me for 2 weeks in April and I was so excited.  I'd waited half a year to see him and we only had 2 weeks together.  I didn't want anything to ruin that time.  We were doing a lot of sightseeing and walking and I did something to the sole of my foot.  It really hurt.  I was limping in pain.  I was trying hard to keep a stiff upper lip and not to let it get me down, but it was beginning to interfere with our traipsing around Japan.   (I later found out I probably bruised my fascia.)

So, I'd hiked up this mountain to take him to my favorite temple.  The last part of the hike I was really limping and suffering and was so unhappy.  We went to the temple and, on a whim, I decided to pray to Buddha for help.  (A strange move for an agnostic)

Not really speaking Japanese myself, I did my best to follow the traditions/instructions.  I filled out a wooden prayer card with my request.  Hung it in the temple, then tossed 300 yen or so into an offering basket.  Clapped my hands to get Buddha's attention and repeated my request in my head to him.  I just asked that my foot get better enough for the next two weeks so that our vacation wouldn't be ruined.   I figured I wasn't going to ask for too much, or get too greedy.  I also didn't think much of anything would come of this but that it was worth a try.  I'm really not religious.  But any port in a storm, so to speak.

I'm sitting on the veranda of the temple and five minutes later my foot starts to feel better.  And it keeps feeling better and better.  By the time we left the temple grounds, my foot felt fine as if it had never hurt at all.  I walked down the mountain with nary a limp.

We had a great 2 week vacation with no more foot pain.  And after that, every time we visited a temple, I tossed more money into the collection baskets as a thank you to Buddha.

Everytime my atheistic tendencies come over me, I think about this moment.

Marisa