November
Dancing(hugging) Buddhas

Milarepa in Sweden
stage at autumn festival
live house concert with Gutei
This month in Japan, it seemed like all we did was dance and dance and dance. And got into trouble for hugging too much! Hugging is not something you see much in Japan, nor the rest of the world for that matter. Events finished and participants would linger in the street hugging, holding hands, laughing, singing ... Well, let's just say a few venue authorities didn't find it amusing. No worries. It wasn't too serious. They received our compassion, and it gave us something to laugh about later on.

The Tokyo event got off to a good start with a big turn-out for Dynamic meditation. Later in the evening, Sandesh(drums) and Pavan(flute) joined for the live-music. What a beautiful sannyas initiation it was! The next day Anupa, my organizer, became a grandmother, so I guess you could say: Tokyo was a multi-dimensional experience.

On the south island of Kyushu, I was joined by my hosts Gutei and Nirguno for a series of autumn festivals and concerts; also a wonderful meditation day in the city of Kumamoto. In between events, we had fun exploring the beautiful countryside, its numerous hotsprings; not to mention the local volcanos.

The final week, I did a series of evening events and an art exhibition - three days in a row - in Hiroshima, Kobe, and Nagoya. The tour finished with a visit to my friends Mukti and Vimal in Maebashi, where we went deeper into the art of karaoke singing. You may remember the photos from the May update? Highlights this time included rapping to Meminem songs and a soul-stirring rendition of Hotel California, which brought us to our knees in tears - of laughter!

This was by far my most beautiful trip to Japan. The meditations connected us all, both inside and out. The music and dancing helped bring our energies to a peak. And when love overflowed, we melted in silence. Afterwards, yes - we hugged! And then enjoyed the best campai's ever.

A big thank you to all my friends in Japan for helping make the events a success and my visit so much fun. Arigato gosiamasu to everyone. And mata, neh?
Mt. Kuju in background, Kyushu beautiful Kyushu with Mt. Aso in background Mt. Aso volcano
hotspring meditation Nirguno and Gutei standing with Naropa(lft) and Bhuti
at Peace Park, Hiroshima