Great Smoky Mountain Peace Pagoda, Newport, Tennessee, USA, 2014.0419Sa. We drove over in rain and arrived in rain. We parked on a road in the forest and were driven to the top where the temple is by a Buddhist angel named Christian in her 4-wheel drive Subaru.
Greeted warmly by Utsumi and Denise. Beautiful temple, Buddhist service, then payed tribute to Lord Buddha on his birthday by pouring three ladles of sweet tea over a statute of him standing with one finger of his left hand pointed toward earth and a finger of his right hand pointed toward heaven.
Everybody who attended brought food which was spread out on a table as a magnificent, organic, vegetarian and delicious buffet. Some of the produce was grown in the Peace Pagoda garden right under the deck on the south side of the mountain.
Talked to Utsumi briefly about my book and particularly the question of where did the gods come from. He had ideas that will be present in that book soon to be seen.
Later we walked through the emerging skeleton of the Peace Pagoda-to-be. It’s going to be big.
Then a ride down the mountain side by Denise in her 4-wheel drive Subaru, and on to our car, then two and a half hours back home where our doggies were patiently waiting on a cool rainy day. Our pet-sitter, Pat, had come to let them outside to romp and stomp. When we arrived home later, they were waiting for us in ecstatic Buddhist nature.
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