KOYASAN

週末、私のピラティスの師匠 I 先生と、先輩方とで高野山へ行ってきました。

高野山の寺院をお参りし、宿坊に泊まり、ピラティスをするという、I 先生の長年の夢を実現した企画でした。

ちょうど今夏最初の台風が過ぎ去った後の、晴天広がる週末。

集合場所のなんば駅切符売り場はたくさんの人。そのほぼ半数が海外からの観光客。

やはり世界遺産である高野山はふつふつと人気が上がってきている観光名所なのですね。

今年は高野山が空海さんによって開かれて以来１２００年の記念すべき年。

そんなタイミングでこの小旅行に参加できたことを嬉しく思いました。

色んなことをしましたが、印象的だったのは、やはり奥ノ院。

大杉の並木道。

深く苔むした石塔たち。巨大なものから、小さな小さなものまで。

たくさんの人々の祈り。

空間がゆがんでいるように思えました。

『いま』というのが失くなって、遠い時代も場所もここに在るような、不思議な感覚。

この世ではない場所へ続く道。

阿字観瞑想の心地よさ。

石庭や紫陽花の美。

空海さんがまだそこにいらっしゃるんだと思えた奥ノ院。

一緒に行った仲間のやさしさ。

空の青さ。

神秘的な空間に少しでも触れられた時間でした。

また、一人でも、何度でもゆっくりと訪れたい。

そんな場所でした。

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

I visited Koyasan (Mount Koya) with my Pilates master, Ms.I, and my seniors last weekend.

It was Ms.I's one of her long time dreams to visit Koyasan with her students and stay at a guesthouse run by a temple, and do Pilates.

It was a sunny weekend after the first typhoon of this summer has just gone.

Namba station where we got together was crowded with many tourists. And around half of them were foreigners. 

I assume Koyasan is now registered as a World Heritage Site, so it's becoming more popular year by year.

This year is an anniversary of 1200 years since Kukai founded the monastery.

I was so happy to visit Koyasan at this timing.

We did many things. And what impressed me the most was Okunoin Cemetery, of course.

The roads lined with very high Koya ceder trees.

The tombstones are thickly covered with moss. There were huge ones and also tiny ones.

Prayers of many people.

I felt like space was warped in the place.

There was no "now". I could feel an ancient eras and places. It was a very strange feeling.

The road was connected to somewhere, out of this world.

I remember a pleasant feeling of Ajikan meditation.
The beauty of rock gardens and hydrangeas.

At Okunoin, I could feel Kukai is still there.

Sweetness of my friends.

Pure blue of the sky.

It was a moment I could feel a touch of mystic air.

I would love to visit Koyasan again, even by myself, many times more.
Again and again.