Temple Rain

Good evening, and welcome to our temple. It's a cool, rainy evening here at the end of the pine tree grove. You can make yourself comfortable on the veranda however you like. Pull up a cushion, or cushions, and stretch out. The Abbott is a way this evening. And although I know him to be a man of boundless kindness, he is a stickler for tradition, as you might expect of one who has spent his life in the observance of ceremony. But I do think that on an evening like this one even he would have to forgive us for sitting out here and enjoying the view. In our tradition, we emphasize hospitality and I would like you, our guests, to feel at home. This place is so familiar to me I could describe each thing in it with my eyes closed. I'll try to bring it to life as vividly to you as it lives for me in my mind's eye. Before we begin, let's just do a little wind down exercise. Tonight's exercise is a really simple breathing exercise. So when you're ready, let's begin. Just bringing the attention to the breath, noticing where you feel it in the nose, the throat, the chest, the diaphragm. You're nice and relaxed. We're going to be taking a deep breath in for four, holding it for four, and then breathing out for six. So, are you ready? Let's begin. In for four, two, three, four. Hold it for four, two, three, four. Now breathing out for six, two, three, four, five, six. In for four, two, three, four. Holding for four, two, three, four. Out for six, two, three, four, five, six. In for four, two, three, four. Holding for four, two, three, four. Out for six, two, three, four, five, six. In for four, two, three, four. Holding for four, two, three, four. Out for six, two, three, four, five, six. Great. Now, returning the breath to normal. Along either side of the long path that leads from the temple gates to the temple doors are many small statues. Each one, about 12 inches high. It's said that they represent people who, sometimes quite suddenly, other times through months and years of meditation, attained enlightenment. You might notice something strange about these little statues. Each one has a little pink hat, almost like a beret. And some of them also have pink bibs. These statues are known as (speaking in foreign language), and they are considered the guardians of travelers and of children. The hats and bibs are offered to bring luck. And originally they are red, this being considered the luckiest color. Over time in the sun and the rain, the hats and bibs fade to this rather fetching pink. I think there's something beneficent about them all, lined up like this under the dripping trees, each one memorializing a blessing or a prayer offered in the hope of good luck. A reminder of all those people...