The temple.

I will never forget my first visit.

Just three of us in residence, the two of us tending the temple each morning. Walking the path, sometimes accompanied by a cat, other times by a tortoise, down to the temple to get pure water for drinking.

Then cleaning the temple and refreshing the offerings, before morning meditation and practice.

Cleaning the koi pond out with our bare hands, because it was so dirty, no fish were visible. We found 18. Cleaned it back to the rock.

Gave them the previous day's water offerings. It took two days, so to protect the fish from the temple cats, we placed them in the temple kitchen, swimming in great glass bowls of temple offering water. They are blessed. The cats too.

Sitting under the trees…