Learning to Bow Quotes

“According to the Shinto code, the viewer on a proper leaf-viewing excursion should try to achieve a personal communion with the leaves, in a bond akin to the private communication between man and god at the heart of many Western religions. As Prince Genji once wrote to a lover, “A sheaf of autumn leaves admired in solitude is like damasks worn in the darkness of the night.” By entering nature, one hopes to internalize the beauty of the leaves in one’s heart. Man enters nature, and nature, in turn, enters man.”
― Bruce Feiler, Learning to Bow: An American Teacher in a Japanese School