tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1920246996266857078.post8594137036728641275..comments2023-08-25T11:03:02.127-05:00Comments on Essentially Nothing...: 87 > 88?Lao Bendanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02075235414545688984noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1920246996266857078.post-22899759494920819882013-02-08T02:12:03.725-06:002013-02-08T02:12:03.725-06:00When I was on the pilgrim trail, I was often tired...When I was on the pilgrim trail, I was often tired, sometimes wet, or hot, or lost, or unsure of where I would sleep that night, but I don’t believe I ever didn’t want to be there. Many a time, I remember thinking, regardless of what is happening around me, I don’t want to be anywhere else, doing anything else. Once I was about one-quarter or so along the way, perhaps somewhere on the way to Cape Muroto, I was confident that I could do this thing I’d embarked upon. And from that point forward, it no longer mattered where I was, I was just happy to be there. And when I reached Temple 88, and returned to Ryozen-ji, I had no sense of having finished something, only of being back where I started, and knowing it was a good place to be. Now, two years later, I do not much like to talk about my pilgrimage. I know I have thereby disappointed some of my friends who seem to attach importance to it, and who want to hear about my experiences on the trail, but I do not think of myself as having had “experiences” there. I just “was” there. Not very interesting, really. But when I was there, I always wanted to be there, and I would return tomorrow if I could.Damianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16953304314080282191noreply@blogger.com