Rory: I enjoyed the WJ link you posted. I did once open up an omamori and saw what was inside, which was a piece of wood, and a small white paper with seed-syllable written there. I felt bad, but I had to know what the deal was. I still believe they may or may not have some power though, so within reason, I feel like getting one once in a while. Maybe it’s just a need for religion reassurance. As for Kegon shu, they don’t seem to be particularly interested in reviving right now. I heard there’s one temple in Hawaii but it’s not open to the public, and there seems to be little overseas effort on their part. The English language resources were pretty minimal too. I guess they’re happy they way they are now.

JonJ: I’ve been there twice, and never managed to take a good shot. Ah well. If I had more time, Horyuji and Toshodaiji were very high on my list, but we spent way more time than expected on Todaiji and Kofukuji. I know that feeling though of chills when you encounter something so ancient.

Someday I hope to be able to spend enough time in the Nara area to cover more of the Todaiji complex. But my favorite place in the vicinity is Horyuji; the tremendous antiquity of those buildings gives me a shiver just being near them.