I love Japan, and everything within these beautiful islands. I have been so lucky to experience a rare activity called Taki-gyou. The day before yesterday, some of us went to a beautiful shrine on a mountain overlooking the beautiful valley of Sasaguri. This fantastic and gorgeous shrine withholds an amazing and somewhat strange tradition, especially for foreigners like me.As soon as we arrived, a very friendly and wise monk received us and told us about this particular and interesting tradition. He suggested that the ritual we were going to experience would be an energizing and uplifting spiritual activity. Beforehand, we had to memorize an interesting hum or chant: ONBARO DAYA SOWAKA. As we were going to be in a kind of a personal trance, and in order to have our mind and spirit totally in sync we had to say this chant over and over, while being under the water. We were ready; we put on our white outfits for the ceremony and washed our feet in a different part of the river. As soon as we finished that, we were called into the area of the waterfall. We grabbed some salt and threw it 3 times to our left, right and left again. Then, as the monk chanted interestingly, we had to approach the waterfall and drink from it 3 times, loudly say UHH, positioned ourselves under it and began the ritual. This amazing experience was a test of strength and spiritual peace within us and our environment. The energy that went through our bodies left us charged, as if we were a battery charging from an electric plug. I truly felt great and peaceful. Many people go to these rituals. However, more and more it is becoming rare and the new generations are losing the value of these amazing traditions. I recommend everyone to experience this. You will never feel as energized. Let`s go together next time!
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