Daily Diary 7/11: Kyoto

Today was our only full day in Kyoto. And in true Kyoto fashion, it was a day full of shrines, temples, religious talks, and even a traditional Buddhist lunch.

Lunch at a Buddhist temple

Professor Erin Brightwell was kind enough to join us on our travels. She discussed the importance of religion in medieval Japan and how it had morphed during that time period. Her lectures and vast knowledge of pre-modern Japan gave a lot of meaning to the various monuments, structures, and images we saw today. One of the more striking and powerful aspects of our trip was the talk given by a Buddhist priest at the Myoshinji Taizoin. He explained the core tenets of Zen Buddhism through the use of vivid metaphors and thought experiments. Parts of his talk can be found in the video below. Despite being the wettest day yet of the program, we were able to visit three shrines and temples as an entire class, each of which was beautiful and significant in their own ways. Many of us then went off to find more later in the day.

You can find a video documenting our day at the link below:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=19J2uhxuoO41kRnqAP2v8lmD9x3nyE5DJ