reflections on uji

The other day, I visited a place outside Kyoto called Uji. If you have read "The Tale of Genji" - this is the place where the story is situated. The town is peppered with elements from the story. Seemingly making it come to life. What struck me most about this lovely place was not its claim to genji's tale, but its unusual calmness. You walk across many parts of Uji and you are greeted by many reflections along the water. Its as if you are walking on a mirror. At some points its hard to tell which way is up or down.

Byodoin Temple, situated just a short walk from a lovely little shopping street, was once a villa and now converted into a temple, is one of the oldest temples in Japan, if not the oldest. About 1000 years old to be exact. As you approach the temple, your eyes are drawn to the surrounding pond that gives the most incredible reflection. In fact, when you walk around Byodoin, it seems to look different from every direction. And from inside the temple, you can see a Buddha made entirely of cypress, which looks out onto the surrounding pond and the mountains. The water is unusually still. You almost feel you would walk on this water its so still.

The day I visited Uji, it was cloudy. And, as I looked passed the temple, onto the cloudy mountain scenery, there was some sort of mystery that became evident. In the cloudiness and unusual stillness...I could see myself. All the cloudiness and unusual stillness, as if waiting for something. Quietly waiting for something. Not expecting anything. Just waiting. And wondering.

I had a conversation with a good friend recently, and we talked about being called into the wild. Before, the wild meant for me - something messy, loud, and so many obstacles that need to be overcome or worked through. After visiting Uji, the meaning of wild kind of changed. Wild is kind of now the unusual anticipation. Before something great happens. Like the temple at Uji, from far away, its difficult to see any of the details and its hard to see through the cloudy day. But, as you approach the something great, and you begin to study the intricate and divine details. And, if you are lucky, you can go inside the something great and look from the inside out and see a new reflection in the water.

Maybe life is a series of reflections. One thing can be viewed from so many different directions and perspectives, but becasue of its reflection...it changes how we see it. I thought about when a person usually sees a reflection - on a lake, a small pond, after the rain, and looking in the mirror. Maybe the reflection is just something pretty to look at, but then again...maybe its something else...

ps. the pictures are best viewed if you click on them, to see them upclose...