Activity

May I share a magic moment? At around 7:00 this morning, I was walking the dogs along one of the very sleepy back streets in the suburb of Kyoto where we live. The air, the light, the vibe in Kyoto are special. As usual, you could have heard a pin drop as we walked along.

Somewhere, not too far away, I could hear a man doing what I thought were vocal exercises. It’s not unusual to see small groups gather to sing or play their instruments together by the river, and it wouldn’t be the first time I had heard Italian operatic arias being practised indoors. Japanese houses tend to be right on the road and the older houses especially have very thin walls! However, although it had been light since 4:30, it was a bit early for that.

As an aside, in Kyoto it is illegal to allow more than 55dB to emanate from your home between 10pm and 6am! BoJo beware!

We turned the corner. Another street of modern – often funky – houses. About a hundred yards away, coming towards us on the other side of the very narrow street, about twenty-five yards apart, was an incongruous sight: three buddhist monks dressed in ancient, traditional, fine grey robes and pointed headdress, carrying their shiny metal bowls, marching slowly in step, looking straight ahead. Each was chanting a different note, deep, resonant and loud. In his own time, each would take a breath and start again in a slightly different note. The harmony was other worldly, even outdoors.

Much as I wanted to, being an ignorant Brit, I felt it rude to stand and stare; so I continued on my way almost as though nothing was happening. As we passed each other, I put my hands together and bowed as I walked. There was no response. Their faces were expressionless but radiated profound peace. Those were magical moments: it was obvious and thrilling to see that their awareness was elsewhere completely. A three-man walking hot spot of DJ’s apotheum?

Why can’t we have that on all our streets instead of 5G?!