On the island of Honshu, not far from Kyoto and Osaka, 1400 sika deer await, bearing a

message from kami. They have been there for a thousand years and with the right conservation efforts, a thousand more. As I journey through the ever-turning wheel of samsara, I imagine a quiet moment between death and rebirth, where the pond is clear and the deer of Nara greet me with a bow.