Autumn in the temple garden

What a beautiful day. Not only was it a random Thursday off with pay, sandwiched between two half days, but it was much needed and greatly appreciated. The day was another of autumn at its finest! The kind of day where the sun peeks occasionally out from behind thin, high clouds to warm up my skin and make the bright leaves glow with the direct light. We went to the northern part of the city to visit a temple that we had not seen. Of course we got lost, and actually never found the temple we set out for, but we found another one… a huge compound actually with scores of structures, several lakes, some small streams, walking paths, forested areas, and an impressive, ancient greenhouse; all of this surrounded by the old compound walls and tall dark wooden gates. It cost us all of about eighty cents to get in, a price well worth the experience.

Having been to many temples, all of which are comprised of similar structures we were more inclined to just marvel outside at the colorful display of the changing season. We talked about how lucky we are to live in a world so rich with color. The brightest reds and deepest crimsons, yellow so yellow it could be the color a child would choose to draw the sun. I loved to spot the occasional green, bright or dark, finally standing out as the minority in a forest bright and dramatic.

We came upon a very large white structure, from far away it was not exactly evident, but we speculated it must be a greenhouse, with all the glass on every side and the roof as well. Indeed it was, not just a simple, modest greenhouse, but also a beautiful and extravagant one, full of creative ways to store plants, all healthy and vibrant inside the large sunny room. It smelled incredible in there, and I made sure to take the deepest breaths I have in a long time, taking advantage of all the oxygen the plants so selflessly emit for my breathing pleasure. Two elderly men were tending to the plants, indoor and out, as we and maybe two or three others meandered about the large glass and wood structure.