JaDa – Day 82

A very emotional day – that was today in a nutshell. I got the stamp – trust engraved – it felt very fulfilling to have trust embodied into something like that. Me and Divya went to Kiyomizu-dera, a buddhist temple in the heart of Kyoto. I would have something very special had I not gone there, at least now. The concept of walking through a pitch dark cave and coming out from the other side was considered a holy rebirth. The cave is revered as the womb of Bodhisattva – the divine essence of Buddhism. As you walk through the pitch dark cave, holding onto the railing made of Buddhist meditation beads, it is a very spiritual moment as you see the holy stone. You pray to the stone, and come out reborn. I am glad this is my last destination of the my Kyoto pilgrimage. We had to get back to the campus before 5, since we had to finally return the ID card. Somehow, I felt very emotional about that too. There’s no more swiping through the stairs, and walking across the hill. Well, everything comes to an end eventually. As though enough memories weren’t made yet, I got a souvenir tee-shirt with Ritsumeikan printed on it, and Divya got a hoodie, before we walked through the hill, climbed the hundred steps up, and the hundred steps down, for one last time.