A Book That Shows Kukai, a Charismatic Figure of the Buddhist World, Was Human Too

　The Master would spend over two hours every morning and evening making rounds to all the halls on the extensive temple grounds to worship the Buddhas. As he worshipped, I would sit on the tatami mats behind him. Sometimes I was alone, and other times as many as ten people would come, and we would all trail along behind the Master as he made his rounds of the temple grounds. He would say, “You must be getting tired, shall we take a break?”, and then he would listen to our questions about Buddhism and our personal troubles. I often didn’t grasp the meaning of those exchanges right away. But then at certain moments, his words would suddenly hit me hard in my chest or gut, and the meaning would sink in on a personal level. Even years later, his words would hit me powerfully in my core (laughs). When someone has undergone genuine spiritual training for many years, their words are different. They strike you with incredible force, as if a whole life were behind them. I would often arrive at the temple with a heavy heart, but on the way home, I would feel a sense of lightness wash over me. I realized that beyond my home and workplace, I had this precious place—the temple—and that going there could clear my mind so completely! That realization sustained me. Little by little, I recovered from my crisis, and eventually I became more energetic and vibrant than I’d ever been before.