Memoirs of the Brightside of the Moon

by Ginger Gilmour

  Entering their gardens takes you on a journey most often in the quiet that lies within each of us. They are gardens meant for meditation, contemplation and a place where it is safe to invite their Gods and Nature Spirits to visit with us. Every garden incorporated symbols or a task for monks to develop their innate abilities to discover their soul or anyone who had the eyes to see. Each had a different intention for the viewer that would open the door to the highest. Mostly designed along the principles of Feng Sui, which is an ancient Chinese theory of space and energy.

  There are various types of Temple Gardens. One that caught my interest the most was the famous "Moss Garden" in Kyoto. Our promoter's secretary told me that it was both a historical landmark and a "special place of most scenic beauty" in Japan. I really wanted to go so she looked into it further. Apparently, since 1977 visitors were limited and had to apply by return postcard for an appointment. They wanted to reduce the damage caused by too many visitors.

  It was more difficult for International visitors since we had to allow seven days prior to a requested visit for the return postcard. As I did not know this garden even existed before leaving England, I could not have done that in time. If we applied now seven days would be after we left Japan. Fortunately, our promoter had connections. I was so grateful. There was only one opening for visitors per day so we creatively had to plan our visit around this. David could not come because of his gigs, so our days were numbered. Thank goodness, our promoter was able to provide an interpreter and car.

  Since the inception of the "Moss Gardens" otherwise named Saihō-ji, there have been several Tea Houses and Temples built on the very old sacred site. They either caught fire, were destroyed by floods or fell into disrepair over the centuries. In 1336, the famous Japanese gardener Musō Soseki came forth to help revive Saihō-ji as a Zen temple. He changed the emphasis to reflect more of a Zen meditation, which the Renzai adherents continue to observe today. Muso received credit for the relationship and the placement of the stones, which are extremely special.(1) (2) The moss garden of today was not Muso's original design. Originally, most of the garden was made of pure white sand raked in different designs to symbolize the Lakes of the Gods. However, nature intervened and it rained and rained. Then there was a flood. What was originally white sand succumbed to water, then ended with moss. Due to the additional fact that the resident monks did not have sufficient funds to restore or to maintain the sand art, the moss continued to grow. By some mysterious coincidence, it seems many different forms of moss appeared. Today the garden has recognized 120 different types of moss. I must say, "The green is a sight to behold!" Saihō-ji has several gardens and Tea Houses. The Moss Garden is located in the eastern part of the Temple grounds and under a grove of pine and maple trees with some bamboo. Before entering, the garden visitors must participate in several rituals. These include zazen (sitting meditation), hand copying sutras (shakyō) and chanting sutras. One is then asked to write down one's wish, name and address. The monks keep all the sutras in the pagoda and continue to pray for all who have come and meditated.

  When we arrived, we were guided to one of the Temple Tea Houses. We walked up a few wooden steps and they requested us to take off our shoes before entering. At the entrance was a large bowl full of wooden sticks with letters upon them and candles burning. Incense filled the air as we entered. We followed the other visitors to another room to the left. It was quite large and rectangular in size. The windows allowed a view of the gardens outside. There were many low-lying tables of pale pine and pillows for one to sit. The floor was covered with a bamboo mat and on each table, sat a small bowl of ink with a Japanese brush beside it. In addition, there was one of those sticks the shape resembling a popsicle stick but a bit wider.

  Everyone sat in quiet, waiting. And as we did, I felt a very strong meditative energy start to take me over. I found it hard to keep my eyes open and surrendered to its soothing power. It got stronger and stronger centered on the entrance as though a being of great purity was approaching the Temple. I was used to this happening with Mrs. Tweedie so it was not new to me. I felt blessed and went into the moment. Bliss slowly warmed my body and so did inner peace. A monk entered the room and took us through a Kensai Zen chant and meditation. Most listened for we were foreigners, but the power of the sounds penetrated and took me deeper into peace. When he finished an interpreter told us to write a wish and our names and address on the wooden stick. I pondered what to write. What was my deepest wish? I wished for Love and Peace to always be with my family. As we finished, we were told to place our sticks in the large bowl that I noticed when we first came in at the front entrance. At that point, we were invited to enter through the Gate of the Moss Garden. I was already in a very fine place, but the bliss went deeper as I entered the Beauty of the Green, lit by the filtered sun rays through the trees. The air was fresh and smelled of earth and leaves. The sound of water trickled around each corner from the miniature waterfalls. Stillness hung in the air.

  The garden is arranged as a circular promenade centered around what they call the Golden Pond. It is in the shape of a heart. The Beauty was beyond words on all levels of my being. The subtle symbolism and the energy of the garden healed many of the tensions I had brought with me. There were no flowers, just green. The intention was not to have distractions that took you away from the meditative experience.

  In Mental Color Therapy, which I was practicing back in the UK, green was the ultimate healing color of nature. That day, I had it first hand and deeper as an experience than ever before. What was interesting to me was that I had always had trouble visualizing Spring Green. Lily said, "Do as if... it will come." So from that day forward in the Moss Garden I could visualize Spring Green. I knew its deeper essence.

  In a different part of the garden there was a triple pagoda where many of the sutras, of the Renzai Zen teachings are kept. Historically, this form of meditation and principles to live by was popular in Japan amongst the Samari, the warrior-class. Zen Buddhism spread among the samurai in the 13th century and helped to shape their standards of conduct, particularly overcoming fear of death and killing. It is accurate that (Zen) practices awaken oneself to the already realized Koan through Zazen. A Koan is a paradoxical anecdote or riddle without a solution, used in Zen Buddhism to demonstrate the inadequacy of logical reasoning and provoke enlightenment. In Rinzai Zen practice, a Koan is examined while sitting in order to deepen insight. The placement of the Rocks in the gardens also was a Koan. A puzzle to be worked out, to break the mind from holding on and let go, very similar to the ancient Zen paintings.

  On that day, I experienced just a glimpse of this - but the peace has remained in my memory. It is recommended that if you wish to visit this garden the most famous times are either during the East Asian rainy season (in Kyoto, early June to mid-July), when the rains make the moss particularly lush, or in late autumn, when the turning leaves contrast with the moss. And make sure that you send the postcard in plenty of time unless you have a promoter that will sort it out for you.

  CHAPTER 64

  PIP AND EMO

  1989

  As I stand before the mirror of my past, memories reappear again of people who I knew along the way. There were two of David's childhood friends from Cambridge that stood out. Emo and Pip. Emo was living in our flat across the way when we were in Monksbridge. He entered the kitchen one morning to tell us that Pip had died in Cambridge on the 14 October 1989. He had returned to heroin and fell in a fight. We heard, he had actually died of head injuries from the fall. On that morning, we all sat in silence, in thought, digesting the news. It was another moment of meeting the cycle of death.

  Pip's Mom was so deep in mourning that Emo, David and I carried her emotionally for nearly three years. She often came down from Cambridge and stayed with us. Annette and Piers, who were visiting from Denmark, came along with Emo to escort her to the Momentary Lapse of Reason concert at the Isle of Dogs. David arranged for a limo to pick them up, which touch
ed her heart with awe and wonder. I went in another car with other friends. She felt that she had witnessed another part of her son's world never revealed to her until that night. She felt she had touched heaven where Pip now was in Peace. He had been such a troubled soul and yet always wore a smile. That night she shed tears of relief to know her boy had been so loved. *** Recently, I spoke with Emo to understand the history of how Emo, Pip and David had become so close. David being from a well- educated family, went to the Perse school in Cambridge and they were from across the bridge. Emo was born on Queen Street and lived with his Mom. Pip lived in Long Stanton in a caravan next to his father who also lived in a caravan. They were 15 at the time when life started to bring them all together.

  Emo worked in the coal yard at Vinters on Hills Rd across the bridge from the Perse. Every Saturday for two years Emo rode the same bus from work at midday as David did to get home for he had lessons on Saturday mornings. Emo drove the pick-up truck full of coal and was always black, which was so the way workers in the coal industry looked throughout English history. He looked straight out of Oliver until he showered and got into his Carnaby glad rags. Emo says it took David a while to put the two people together, the black one and the Mod.

  It wasn't until they were 17 that they would actually meet in town at the Mill pub where one could hire punts to go on the River Cam. Storm Thorgerson, Peter Gilmour and David were sitting on the wall having a chat. Emo approached sitting next to him saying, "Hello David." He responded, "Hello, Emo." Somehow, David knew his name. From that moment on, they were inseparable.

  At the time, Cambridge was full of Mods and Carnaby fashions were all the rage. Emo earned £10 per week, which was a lot, and had no problem filling his closet with incredible clothes like his favorite black leopard skin coat. He wore it everywhere. Everyone hung out at the Rex Theatre and the Jazz Club. The sound of Muddy Waters, Roland Kurt, and the Rolling Stones played as everyone gathered together on the weekends.

  Emo was friends with Sid Barratt initially. Their early childhood was so similar. They both lost their fathers and were raised by their mothers in difficult financial circumstances on the edge of town. Emo says that they had more in common than that as they were both sensitive souls and very theatrical. They goofed off a lot around town in their fancy clothes and in the park. They stood out amongst the crowd. Often loudly.

  One afternoon they spotted Pip in the distance looking like a wandering Wallaby, long curly locks of auburn hair dancing about under the trees. He too was an eccentric character adding color to the scene. What a time the sixties were. It was a time to express one's nature despite the limitations of being illiterate and poor. As time went on, they got closer. They gravitated towards each other like brothers of spirit.

  On one evening, Sid, Pip and Emo were hanging out at the "Criterion" together, which was a beatnik place for Hippy People to hang. Everyone was there. Twenty-five friends, a collection of unique people, David, Storm, David Gale, David Henderson, Nigel and Jenny Gordon to name a few. That evening Emo introduced Sid to Mick Rock, a Pop Photographer from the States, who helped Sid along his career to fame. Mick was later to take the photos for Sid's album Madcap Laugh.

  One evening Emo went to David's house to hang out while his parents were out to some function. They were in the kitchen frolicking rather loudly when they returned. At first his parents were alarmed for when Emo smiled with a rather uncomfortable garish and whimsical snicker, he didn't have his two front teeth. He looked like a street urchin in their eyes. They exclaimed, "What's going on?" whereupon Emo sensed that it would be a good idea to leave.

  Doug and Sylvia continued to question David with a tone of disgust, "Why do you bring such riff raff home?" Eventually they would discover Emo's heart qualities. He was a street fighter who protected the neighborhood girls and friends from bullies. He was the front line of protection with angel wings. He took the beating for them, as he was fearless.

  Pip, David and Emo became a dynamic trio around town. They were buddies. Unfortunately, Pip became a heroin addict. He had read the books Naked Lunch and On the Road by William Burrows, which inspired him to think heroin would change his poor struggling life to bliss. He hung out with a few beatniks in town who were addicts and lost his way. Emo at that point looked after him for years trying to steer him in a more healthy direction. Finally, David paid for him to go to a rehabilitation centerin Greece in 1971. By which point he had ruined his left arm from shooting up.

  The story doesn't end there. At the airport, he was searched. Guess what? He was carrying heroin and got busted. He spent two years in a Greek jail from 1971-1973. No drugs, no friends, couldn't understand the language, it was just in prison and cold turkey. Well it did help him to kick the habit. He began re- educating himself. He read 2-3 books each week and learned Greek fluently. When he returned Emo also had changed. He had a broken heart, was a drunk and on drugs. Pip was so clean when he returned and the tide had changed. He took care of Emo until six months later when he joined the party again.

  Eventually Emo would meet Master Charan Singh in 1975. The experience was to heal Emo's heart. Nigel Gordon was filming a documentary called the "Sat Guru" and Emo had to assist the cameraman. As a result, Emo spent a lot of time near his Master. He was restored, clean and devoted. After which Emo became Pip's caretaker again until he moved to London. What a pair they were. We didn't have to hire clowns for Alice's birthday parties. They were so wonderful and silly. The kids loved them, except for one little girl that cried throughout the party each time they came near.

  ***

  David went to France in 1966-68 with Willie Wilson and Rick Wills. They were gigging together but not as Jokers Wild, but as the Flowers. Emo moved to London to Calvedon Rd in 1967. Pip stayed in Cambridge. David returned to London in 1968 and moved in with Emo. They both got jobs working for Ossie Clark at Quorum in Chelsea. David drove the van and Emo put on the studs on the leather Jackets. They met so many colorful people. London was alive.

  Emo was close with Sid during his time in London. Their friendship carried over from Cambridge. LSD was the drug of choice, but it was pure. Emo said that after the Floyd American tour in 1968, Sid returned in a very bad way. It is said that he had gone to a party in the States and was given some really bad acid. The trip was one of Sid's worse nightmares from which he would never recover. His deepest fears came out and as a result he became really mentally strung out and ill.

  Sid was interested in the teachings of R.D. Laing, a Scottish psychiatrist, who wrote extensively on mental illness. His main premise that influenced Sid was "Break on Through to the Other Side." Sid did try. Storm, Dave, Gale, Nigel, and Ponji arranged for Sid to have one on one sessions with R.D. Laing. He only had two sessions because it was too challenging. He continued taking LSD. Instead of breaking through to the other side, he went into a black hole.

  One could still have conversations with him at times. Other times it was impossible. He was gone. He often wandered through the streets of Chelsea and Kensington where everyone lived and hung out. It got worse and worse. He couldn't play anymore. He would often just stand on the edge of the stage and stare at the audience. The band tried to hold him together and kept bringing him to gigs. Eventually, Emo says it got too painful for him to watch. He stopped going to the gigs. David and Emo were living in a new flat in Warwick Square Mews when Roger Waters called to speak with David. They knew each other from Cambridge. Emo was sitting on the bed when David came into the room after the call and said, "The Floyd have asked me to play in the band!" "Wow! Then you don't have to drive a van anymore!" Emo exclaimed rather excitedly. They jumped around the room together like two maniacs. When they both came back to sanity, David casually said, "But Roger said I had to dress like a pop star. What should I do?" Emo responded, "Well dress like a pop star!" "Well how do I do that?" David wondered. Emo suggested, "We can go to Ossie Clark. He has the clothes that pop stars wear." David rolled his eyes in thought, suddenly realizing that he had been
delivering the clothes all the time.

  So they both went together. Ossie dressed David in a black ruffled shirt and brown skintight velvet trousers. David had maroon Gohill boots already, which really went with the outfit. He did look rather camp and played it up a bit in the shop after hours. Being not quite his style, David was slightly embarrassed for he was more at home in blue jeans, but he transcended it. Getting the job was a gift he had desired. The rest is history.

  ***

  Emo remembers the day that David returned from America, in 1971, and brought me with him to the flat in Warwick Way. I was so shy and innocent. He said David was really proud and showed me off. I had no idea. He said it was evident how much we were in love. We were always kissing and holding hands. To Emo, the beauty of David's face could launch a thousand ships and he found the same in mine. He could tell we were a match made in heaven. Personally, I remember feeling I had walked into the movie Blow Up. It was a movie depicting the swinging life in London, inspired by the real life of a London photographer, David Bailey. My life was to become just that and I loved it. Well, part of it. I really missed home. Fortunately, many friendships were born and lasted a lifetime of challenges, laughter and tears. Emo and Pip are just a few.