Ryushin's Recollections: Part III

Greetings
 
I like to refer to this day as “Death by insanely good Japanese food.” It started out like the previous day--with meditation. We woke up slightly later, so after zazen it was time for breakfast.

Once again, we were served a plentiful meal at the restaurant on the first floor of the hotel. Included were miso soup, rice, tofu, fish, shrimp, seaweed, etc. It wasn’t a lot of these things, so much as the sheer number. But, it was our second breakfast in Japan, so we ate with delight. There was a brief overview of the day, time for preparations, and then we were off to the tour bus.

We met Aki on the bus. Aki was our tour guide for the day. He was a peppy little Japanese man with only the trace of an accent. He informed us that his name is Akira, but westerners don’t pronounce it right so he goes by Aki. I can’t report all that Aki told me about the places we saw, or about Kyoto in general--but I can assure you that he is quite proud of what he knows and would probably tell you all about Kyoto if you were ever to meet and ask him.

Our first stop was Mibudera. Mibudera is one of many temples dedicated to Jizo, which is part of the reason we visited. In accordance with Jizo’s vow to aid children and travelers, the temple operates both a nursery school and a senior home, as well as a stage for Kyogen-style plays. Kyogen are Japanese style plays that are dialogue-based and often have a comic element to them. This temple also has a number of the stone grave markers mentioned previously, in Part II. To the of the chanting hall they have several hundred of these markers set up to form a stupa.

A stupa is a Buddhist monument and represents the body of the Buddha. It has several sections to it, each with a separate meaning, and they don’t always look exactly the same. They look like the upper portion of a sphere, with a graduated pyramid or cone rising from the top. They can be as small as three inches high, or as large as a building. Mibudera’s stupa was building- sized. The markers surrounded the graduated cone section, in smaller circles as they reached the top.   

Our bus let us out on the main street near Mibudera. I was assigned to carry a box of ceramic Jizos for the seniors, and Onshin got the box of Jizos for the nursery school. There are 144 seniors and 127 children at Mibudera, and we had one statue for each person. That’s roughly 25 lbs. for each box. Keep in mind, as the story unfolds, that it was in the 80s, about 75% humidity, and we were carrying these boxes

We began trickling down the narrow alley, without really knowing where we were going. Suddenly I heard a woman frantically saying, “Chozen Roshi? Chozen Roshi?” She passed right by Chozen (who was the only one in formal priest robes, I should add), and then me. She went up to Hogen, who was at the end of the line, and said, “Chozen Roshi, you need to come to the front of the line.” Hogen kindly explained that Chozen was up closer to the front.  She turned and raced back up the line calling for Chozen, now with several pilgrims calling as well (which probably only added to the confusion). Finally, Chozen was found and escorted to the head of the line just as they reached the entrance to the temple.

There was a long walkway from the simple stone gate to the chanting hall. Lining the walkway near the hall were little school kids with their uniforms (white shirts, blue pants, and a blue cap). They each held either a US or Japanese flag, which they waved in a rather confused fashion. Perhaps they were scared to see so many foreigners. There were film cameras and photographers there, in addition to our film crews. Film crews filming film crews. I hoped they were getting each other’s good side. As I was taking all of this in, I heard the click of speakers turning on. Suddenly we were being greeted by the Star Spangled Banner! It was all simply too much.

Matsuura Roshi greeted us and thanked us for coming so far. He was speaking to us from a podium. He invited Chozen  up, and she briefly described how they met. We went into the chanting hall to perform the Jizo Mantra. I got to put the box down in the chanting hall. Then we headed outside and Rob and I took the boxes along.

Matsuura Roshi led us to a place where there were many grave markers set out on the ground, laid on their backs. Each one had a small tag with a number and its weight. He explained to us that he was going to donate these grave markers to our monastery! There are 108 in all, a prominent number in Buddhism, and he would even pay for shipping! Many photos were taken as we “ooohhed” and “ahhhed.”

We brought out many Jizo banners and held them up for Matsuura Roshi and the camera crews. Rob and I continued to sweat. The news crews circled around Chozen and Kaz. They were asking questions of Chozen while Kaz translated.

Matsuura Roshi came over and talked with me about the statues. I smiled and thanked him. Sweat streamed in my eyes and my arms quivered slightly. Finally, Hogen mentioned that it would be helpful to get out of the direct sunlight. Matsuura Roshi suggested we go inside for lunch.

Inside we put down (phew!) our boxes and sat at two long rows of tables while classical western music played in the background. A small boy started serving us cans of orange and mango juice. There was a fancy box in front of each person. They told us to enjoy and we opened our boxes. Oh boy.

Inside our boxes was the highest-end bento lunch you can get. Someone estimated the meal cost $60 per person! There was sushi, tempura, eggplant, tofu, orange, seaweed, green beans, cucumber, etc. It was all very beautifully decorated, to boot. Now, when I say all those food items you might say, “Holy Buddha that’s alotta food!” But keep in mind that there was one piece of orange, and two small green beans. On the other hand, keep in mind that we finished a big breakfast only three hours before.



Hogen had been here before, so it was he who mentioned that the people serving us were Matsura Roshi’s son, daughter-in-law, and grandson! Hogen had them stand still for a moment so we could offer our applause. They bowed, of course. We crammed down as much of the lovely food as our little stomachs could hold. We were informed that it was almost time to go. We did have time to present Matsura Roshi with the ceramic Jizo boxes, and (phew) say goodbye to them.
 
On our way out we saw another set of grave markers in a pyramid shape. On the top was a beautiful metal statue of Jizo holding a smiling baby. In front of the markers was a familiar sight, one of the garden Jizo statues we sell at ZenWorks! I went to investigate and found a plaque in front of the statue which read: “Hello Buddha of Mibudera. I am an American Jizo from Oregon.” I bowed to the pile of Buddha figures, and hopped back on the bus.

The next stop was the Kugi Nugi or “Nail Pulling” Jizo Temple. This is a small temple, with next to no frills. It is a devotional place for people who are experiencing pain. When you enter the gate you are greeted by a set of three-foot-long nails and an equally number of pliers, with a bib wrapped around the pliers. You will often see bibs around fences or virtually anything that will hold it. Each bib represents a child who has died, and a prayer to Jizo for their safe passage to whatever lies beyond this world.

Just beyond the pliers/nails statue is a small building. In the building is a statue of Jizo. People offer donations to Jizo and make prayers. To the left of this statue is a smaller altar with a statue of one of the Buddha’s disciples. In front of the statue is a wand covered in cloth.

The thought is that people pray for healing of their pain, and then they touch the wand to the place where they are experiencing pain. It was obvious in watching the way people used the wand that they have deep faith in this healing. I saw one elderly man tenderly pick up the wand and touch it to his shoulder, his other shoulder, down his right side, around the lower back, down the entire right leg, and down the entire left leg. I was near tears by the time he finished.

When people finish using the wand they will often circumambulate the building several times. Lining the sides of the building are plaques of  nails and pliers with the name of donors to the temple. Behind the building are two wheels with small Jizo plaques on them and people’s names. They are similar to Tibetan prayer wheels where prayers are placed on a wheel, and when the wheel is spun all those prayers are sent out into the world.  

We met the caretaker of the temple. We mentioned that it seemed fairly busy (there was a stream of people the entire time we were visiting). He agreed and said that from the time he opens the doors at 5:30am until the time he closes the gate at 5:30 pm there is never a time when the temple is empty. We chanted the Jizo mantra and circumambulated the temple. He served us cold barley tea and sweets. We thanked him and said good bye.

The next stop was Ryoan-ji, known for its amazing rock garden. Zen gardens use a combination of rocks, sand, and foliage to create an atmosphere capable of inducing a contemplative mind state.



We only had a brief time here. This was more of the “Japanese-style touring” day. That means racing to the location, taking some pictures, hopping back on the bus to the next place, taking some pictures, etc.

Next on the list was the Golden Pavilion. The main structure is a three story pagoda-like building which sits overlooking a beautiful pond. It was constructed in the 1200s to be a villa for the Shogun. It was passed down for over a hundred years before being given to the Zen school as a temple.

The pavilion is entirely coated in gold leaf with lacquer in between the layers to secure them to the sides. The building was kept in good shape until the mid 60s when a monk described as “deranged” in the brochure burnt the building down. It was, of course, rebuilt exactly like the original.

As we were headed towards the exit, a little Japanese man in a white jumpsuit, knee pads, and helmet came over to our group. He asked us where we were from. I suppose he was surprised to see so many westerners wearing Zen clothes. We told him about Jizos for Peace and he got very excited. Daigaku informed us, “He has invited everyone to have green tea.”

The little fellow, who turned out to be the head gardener of the grounds, brought us to an area where, for 400 yen, you can purchase a cup of powdered green tea (Matcha), served cold. He told the woman who accepts the money that he was treating all of us to tea, and it seemed that there was a brief and unspoken exchange between the two of them. He then went to the small basin of water just inside the tea area and waved us ahead.

As each person came up he would pour water on each of their hands and a little water to swoosh in their mouth. We all sat in a long line in the tea room and were served three at a time. The man came up briefly to make sure we had all been served and we said in unison, “Arigato Gozaimasu!” (Thank you very much!)

I was not particularly moved by Ryoan-ji or the Golden Pavilion, because they were amazingly busy places. I found it quite ironic that these sites, designed to create stillness, instead drew crowds which created chatting. People were taking photos of friends pretending to meditate for a minute in front of the rock garden.

The last stop of the night was a restaurant right next to Tom’s Temple, Rinsen-ji (see Part II for info). Tom explained to us that this is one of the best Rinzai restaurants in all of Kyoto. Rinzai is a  style of Zen Buddhism, and I didn’t know that they had better or worse restaurants. The Rinzai temple that I once spent a week in only served miso soup, rce, and pickled daikon radish. I was hoping that the best Rinzai Restaurant would do one better than that, and they did.

So, the first course required lessons. We were served three cups of soy milk in a metal bowl with a piece of Sterno underneath it. They lit the Sterno and heated the soy milk. Eventually the soy milk heated to the point of forming a skin on top. The customer would take the skin off, dip it in sauce, and eat it.

This skin is called yuba. It is a very slow way to eat three cups of soy milk. About a half hour later the Sterno burns out and you are left with two and a half cups of soy milk. At that point you take the next item from your small array of condiments and toss it into the milk. I don’t know what it is, but it causes the remaining milk to curdle in a few minutes. You place the watery yuba into the sauce and also eat that. Course number one: complete.

The meal progressed like that, amazingly scrumptious dish by dish. I was sitting with some of the videographers. They got the idea to start filming all the food we were eating. They even enlisted the help of another pilgrim at our table to be directed in picking up a chopstick full of this or a spoon full of that.

Most people at my table were full by the sixth or seventh course. I was hoping that we wouldn’t seem unappreciative of all this beautiful food. As a result, I ended up eating other people’s courses in addition to my own!

I can’t remember all the dishes but I do remember an elegant array of tempura towards the end, with condiment dishes of powdered green tea and salt shaped into flower or spiral designs. We were served miso soup and rice, and Tom informed us that in Japan restaurants serve that last as a way of getting people out the door.

So, we politely ate our soup and rice; some people took video clips of it instead. And yet, a final dish came out! I can’t even remember what it was (I think my mind has chosen to delete that memory). At any rate, I ate it, and knew that I was done.

We shuffled off at our own pace, finding our own way back to the hotel. I went back with Rob on the train. Rob was the weblog updater, and I was the blog photographer. So, I mentioned it would be good to get something on the web. It was 10:30pm. He and I were both very tired, sweaty, and full of Japanese food…but we knew it had to be done. We went to the hotel to collect his laptop before scurrying down to the Internet/comic book café, located directly above the previously-mentioned Pachinko parlor.

We asked the guy if we could hook up our computer to his internet. He said no. We said fine, and he showed us where to go. Only after I sat down did I realize that I couldn’t understand a word on the screen. There were no words, only Japanese characters. A sigh was mutually and wholeheartedly expressed.

We decided to take a chance and try to log on with their cable and Rob’s computer. Success! We got in, wrote our piece, added some photos for good measure, and finished mere minutes before they closed at midnight.

Tired but happy, we returned to the hotel. We took a long bath and fell asleep around 1a.m. Thus ended the fourth day.
 
Peace,
          Ryushin