Day 19 - The end of the walking

This is the main entrance gate to Tosa Shrine. It actually seems to be a Buddhist gate. I am not positive but I think that some time around WW2, when Shinto became the state religion, the Shrine must have taken over much of the temple property, including this gate. However, this is only a guess and may well be completely wrong.

Ian and I walked the short distance to Tosa Ikku station where we just caught a train back to Kochi station. Although it was early in the afternoon, this marked the official end of our Pilgrimage. Temple #31 was a long walk away and there were no trains back to Kochi from there, so we had decided that we would not continue any farther. If we ever came back, we would start again at #31.

When we arrived at Kochi, we went to the souvenir shops in the station and spent quite a long time decided on what to buy as final presents for the people at home. Then we returned to the hotel where we sat in the lobby and watched sumo on TV. Ian drank a beer, the first since we left home, but I decided to continue observing the Five Precepts until we arrived home.

At six p.m., after the last sumo bout, we went back to the same restaurant we had eaten at the night before. However, on this day service was very slow and we had to stay until almost bed time. The reason was that a 28 player high school baseball team was staying in our hotel had reservations for a group supper. Ian had another beer. I was sorely tempted but in the end did not. After we ate, I went back to my room, packed and went to bed.

In the morning we arose early, had breakfast and caught the first train to Okayama and from there got a Shinkansen (Bullet Train) to Tokyo, where we transferred to another Shinkansen train to Sendai. We reached the final end of our journey in the early evening.

Looking back, I see that I changed a lot during the trip. First it was probably the hardest physical thing that I did in my life - much more difficult than Basic Training in the Army, for example - and I was successful. Also my mind changed. My inner speech quiet down and I felt much more peaceful and less bother by worldly things. Also after returning to Sendai, I developed an urge to study Buddhism more deeply and to start meditating again.

During April and May I went out with my friends and drank wine, breaking the Five Precepts, but otherwise I followed them. Then in April I located an online meditation teacher and signed up for the course which started on the first of May. As a condition for the course, the student had to follow the Five Precepts and meditate every day. I had no problem with this and the next few times I went out with my friends, I drank tea rather than wine. At the end of the formal instruction, I decided to continue meditating and to continue following the Five Precepts. I meditate every day and plan to continue into the foreseeable future. I will also continue observing the Five Precepts to the best of my ability.

This marks the end of the Henro Pilgrimage blog. I will return to posting pictures, two or three times a week, of live in and around Sendai. Also, Ian said that he would send me copies of the few pictures that he took. If they are different from mine, I will post them. Thanks for coming with me on this journey into Shikoku and my mind.