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Yuchuan temple reminded me of one universal reality in temple building symbolism: one must climb dozens, hundreds, sometimes thousands of steps to reach the final destination. Probably an apt analogy for many things in life. By the way—that frisbee teaching success should be celebrated. I remember trying to teach the game Mafia to people back home, and they immediately made me feel like one of the most popular American games can really be absolutely ludicrous when seen from a particular point of view. 😂

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Hah. I remember us playing that in HS, probably you did around then too since we’re basically the same age.

Yes, steps are structure that lead one to Heaven and universal energy..I think that’s the commonality in all cultures, pyramids tombs etc.

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Outstanding Nick - if I had ever heard of Red Pine or his books I forgot - thanks for such a meaningful and beautifully meandering journey from your house to his, your time in China to his, and your memories into our inboxes.

Absolutely loved it, excited for the next one. (And to be honest hearing more about your time in China and at Chinese temples. My most memorable visit was to Emei Shan in Sichuan, which I continued to remember throughout reading your post). I lived in Chongqing 2011-2013 and related to a lot of the photos, even though I was more than a decade a half in your footsteps.

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Aha, the Chinese connection comes out! Glad to hear it!

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Great post! I think it's so cool that you just decided to write to an author you admired and then ended up becoming friends. Looking forward to the interview!

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Thank you Tina, I was hoping you might appreciate it!

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*more than a half decade

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