So I went out on a bike ride today, and wound up drinking green tea with a Buddhist priest in a temple. I figured that was a worthy blogspot opportunity. Tuesday is not my official day off, but there still aren't any classes scheduled for me on Tuesday, so I had lots of free time. And I had the sudden urge to get out of the apartment and just ride my bike. So around noon, I embarked on a journey. Not knowing where I was going, where I'd end up, or how long I'd be gone. It is just nice to be free. So after about 30 minutes of riding in one direction, I found an area that seemed to be a bit more quiet and cozy than alot of other areas around where I live. The streets were all narrow (barely wide enough for a single car to pass through). All the houses were very traditional looking. Some looked very old. I saw lots of beautiful gardens, and flowers blooming. I saw a pond with hundreds of frogs swimming around. And then I found a temple.

I have always been interested in Japanese temples. They have the most beautiful architecture and gardens. They all have a very tranquil feel to them. The Japanese refer to this feeling as "Wabi-Sabi". So I entered the temple gates, feeling a little uneasy because I am not sure if I am allowed or wanted to enter, especially since I am not Buddhist. But I didn't see anyone around, so I just walked around, and took a few pictures. But after a few minutes, a man in a black robe came around the corner. I started to ask him (in Japanese) if it was okay for me to be here and take pictures, but before I said a word, he greeted me in English. I was very surprised. I was not expecting anyone in this area to speak English at all, but to my surprise, his English was actually pretty good.

He invited me inside for some green tea, and I gladly accepted. So I took my shoes off, entered the temple, and enjoyed 2 cups of fabulous green tea. We talked mostly in English, but here and there, we both spoke in Japanese. He is still very young (34 years old), so he had learned alot of English at his university. He had lots of questions for me. Mainly just who I was, where I'm from, why I'm in Japan, what my interest in Japan is. So we talked. And since I told him I was a Christian, he ran off for a couple of minutes only to return with a really old book (printed in 1885) about how the Gospel of Christ had spread through the work of missionaries. And there was a whole chapter on Japan. It was fascinating. I asked him a little bit about himself, and so we talked a little bit about religion, and US-Japanese relations, and about his interest in the philosophy of justice in the law. It was fun to talk about some deeper things, but naturally, my Japanese and his English were not good enough to have a trully fascinating conversation (I hope to change that someday). But he showed me around the temple, allowing me enter areas that usually only priests are allowed to enter. And then we bid each other farewell, with a hand shake and a lot of bowing.

That was one of the most interesting things that has happened to me since I have been here. So I think I might go and visit him tommorrow.

His name is 松本宣秀(Matsumoto, Nobuhide).