Dear Ones,
After a relaxing time in the ofuro early this morning and some enthusiastic shopping with friends in the Ginza, I took a brief nap and then wrote in my journal. On our shopping excursion I was introduced to Itoya, a store like nothing I have ever seen. There were 12 stories of stationery, writing instruments and desktop objects. Very dangerous for those of us who love these kinds of beautiful things. I didn’t get in too much trouble but found a new fountain pen and a special mechanical pencil. There is a picture below of the entrance to the building.
Today everyone has finally arrived, and in less than an hour we all gather for the first time to officially begin the pilgrimage. This is what came this afternoon, writing with my new pen.
The Pilgrimage of No Beginning and No End
We say we gather tonight to begin,
a circle of beings outside of body time,
both weary and joyful,
known and unknown to each other,
preparing to take our first shared steps.
But are these really the first steps?
Is this our true beginning?
So many of us having been shaped
by prior shared experiences,
and many of us formed by practices
handed down through the
succession of ancestors —
the true pilgrims of the past.
Were they our beginning?
Whatever path we've taken along the way,
our eyes may have been opened a bit,
hidden places in our hearts revealed,
renewed — even healed —
but would we say all of that came before?
Or were those moments the true beginning — of Now?
Our practice of stillness and silence
has no beginning and no end,
one breath simply follows another,
until there is no breath at all.
Would no-breath be the end?
Was our first breath the beginning?
Or was that cry the end of
everything that came before?
No matter, we've been given this gorgeous, unfathomable life,
the true pilgrimage with no beginning and no end.
Still embodied, we vow to take the next step — together.
