Upward Over The Mountain (Buddhas, Ninjas and Nature)

Grab a cup of tea. This is going to be a long one.

I have no idea why there are so many national holidays in this country. No one seems to celebrate or honor anything. They just stay at home and do nothing. It's very strange...
I, on the other hand, took the opportunity of another long weekend to do some more traveling. I spent Saturday and Sunday atop Mt. Koya. ('Koya-san' as it is affectionately referred to by the Japanese people). The monastic complex of Koya-san is the headquarters of the Shingon school of Esoteric Buddhism (in other words, a gigantic Buddhist monastery on top of a mountain). It was founded by Kobo Daishi 1200 years ago and remains a very popular school and World Heritage Site (over 110 very old temples remain) as well as an extremely popular Buddhist pilgrimage site. I went with my host mother, two Buddhist priests and six other women. It took three trains, a cable car and bus to get there (5 hours!) but the journey was actually not so bad on account of windy railroad that brought with it some very beautiful scenery. When we got to Koya-san, we first visited the Garan, or main temple complex. The bright red pagoda and old wooden buildings looked stunning against the background of red, orange and yellow Japanese maple trees (Japan is in the midst of the leaf change right now- gorgeous!). The priests led us through the complex in the proper order and we entered some of the temples to bow and pray to the deities inside. The priests were explaining all about Esoteric Buddhism, each specific deity and Buddhist customs as we went along and I was absolutely choked that I couldn't understand much of what they were saying (my host mother translated what she could, but her English seemed to get worse and worse as the weekend went on). I loved the temples. I've never seen anything like them. Inside are gigantic carvings of deities surrounded by beautiful golden adornments and the thick, overwhelming scent of incense- the feeling of entering one of these temples is indescribable. Also, when you enter, you rub a fragrant powder on your hands that is meant to cleanse them which, for me, resulted in such an overwhelming peaceful and calm feeling as I knelt with my hands clasped close to my face (it almost helped me forget the pain in my knees and the pins and needles in my feet that result from kneeling for a long period of time). After paying our respects at the Garan (and about 20 other temples along the road), we went to another temple where we received Jukai. Jukai is an Esoteric Buddhist ceremony that one must complete in order to be officially Buddhist. You enter a very dark room (complete with another beautiful Buddhist shrine), meditate and chant. It takes about 30 minutes. Anyone can receive Jukai regardless of religion (I love that about Buddhism) and receiving it does not mean you are a Buddhist unless you wish to be so. After this, we arrived at the temple at which we were staying the night. Being that Koya-san is located on top of a mountain, it was rather cold. Oddly enough, inside the temple was colder. Luckily, our room had two small heaters. Our room was large with tatami mat floors, sliding paper doors and two tables. It is customary when staying in these temples (called Shukubo) or Ryokan (traditional Japanese inn) that your futon is laid out for you while you are eating dinner away from your room- which is exactly what happened. After a delicious (all vegetarian!) Japanese dinner prepared by the monks, we returned to our room to find futons laid side by side all across the room (with nice little feet warmer things-it was very cosy). Seeing as we were joined by two priests on our trip, we did everything according to proper custom, which meant paying our respects to the shrine in our room. This is where things get a little unbelievable so please bear with me and keep an open mind (and remember I was a guest and extremely lucky to have been asked to go on this trip). One of the priests was apparently able to contact the deities who would then speak through him and offer advice if properly enticed to do so. So, an incredible feast was laid out before the shrine (of each of the deities favourite foods apparently) and we were asked to meditate. After a short time, the priest informed us that deities were present and pleased with the offering. He then called us up one by one to receive a message from one of the deities. That is all that I will say about that.
The next morning, we woke early to meditate with the monks and other temple guests. Again, the room had a beautiful Buddhist shrine and we meditated and chanted as per the two monks who lead the meditation. The calm feeling this creates lasts all day. After packing up, we went to Oku-no-in. Oku-no-in was on my list of top 10 places I wanted to visit in Japan and it didn't disappoint. Oku-no-in is a world famous Buddhist graveyard set in an old cedar forest at the eastern side of Mt. Koya. It is absolutely enchanting. You cross the bridge (bow first of course) and instantly the world is silenced as gigantic cedar trees loom and you are surrounded by ancient, moss-covered tombstones. Because it was early in the morning, the sunlight that shone in beams through the trees was just beginning to evaporate the dew which rose into a beautiful mist and made the forest look like something out of a dream. It is quite possibly the most utterly peaceful place on earth. We walked along the path, stopping every so often to bow where it was customary (thank goodness for the priests) until we reached another bridge. Before crossing the bridge you must first go to a long line of Buddhist deity statues and toss water on each one as an offering for the dead. Then you may go to the bridge, bow, introduce yourself complete with name and address, bow again and cross (which foot you step up with is also important). Beyond this point is one of the most spiritual places on Earth: the mausoleum of Kobo Daishi (now you understand the history lesson). You first pass though Lantern Hall (where it is said there are lanterns that have been burning for more than 900 years) and go to the back to see Kobo Daishi's mausoleum where it is believed Kobo Daishi is not dead but has been meditating for 1000 years awaiting the future Buddha's return to Earth. Everyone who is anyone is buried here in the hope of being rewarded when the future Buddha returns. This place is world famous among Buddhists and was naturally incredibly busy. Everyone crowds this one area to light candles and incense for their family and pray to Kobo Daishi for the health and prosperity of themselves and their family (yes, Mom, I did it too). The result of all this incense burning is the most incredible, fragrant fog that fills the air on this side of Oku-no-in. I've never experienced anything to rival this. It was so meaningful to me and I will never forget it. As we left Oku-no-in, the priest led us past a very long line of Bodhisattva carvings (there are hundreds of Bodhisattvas in Esoteric Buddhism). Every so often he would stop, call someone forward and announce that this was their guardian Bodhisattva. He would teach that person how to properly worship them (chant, offering, ect.) have them bow, chant, pray and bow and move on. My guardian Bodhisattva apparently is Monju Bosatsu: Buddhist Deity of Wisdom. I thought it was interesting that this is my guardian deity as he is the only deity pictured riding a lion and my star sign is Leo. Maybe I am forcing a connection, I'm not sure, but I thought it was interesting anyway. Then it was the five hour journey back home. I must have bowed over 500 times in two days- quite the abdominal workout!

If you are still with me, here is what you were waiting for: Ninjas. On Tuesday (national holiday, remember?), Sean, John and I went to Iga which is famous for it's ninja history. I love ninjas. Who doesn't?? Stealthy assassins are so cool (why do you think the James Bond movies still make so much money?). We went to the Ninja Museum where we were showed around an old-style 'ninja house' complete with trap doors, revolving walls, lookout points and the like. The ninja who was showing us around (yes, they still train ninja's here) demonstrated the revolving wall. I swear she disappeared in half a second and the wall looked completely normal (when I did it, it took about five seconds for me to get behind the door and I had a heck of a time keeping the door still). Then we got to look at real ninja weapons. There is a lot more to ninja weaponry than shurikans, swords and nun-chuks. They had more gadgets than Batman and this was around 700 hundred years ago. We then watched a weapons demonstration where we saw ninjas fight each other and throw shurikans (throwing stars). Yes, it was extremely cool. From here, we traveled to Ise where the most sacred shrine in Japan is located: Ise Shrine. I can see why it is considered more sacred than Atsuta Shrine (in Nagoya) because it is located in a peaceful place in the woods, surrounded by trees and rivers, and all the buildings are wooden with moss roofs (Shinto is a nature worship religion by the way) whereas Atsuta Shrine is located in a big city and all the buildings, while gorgeous, look shiny and new. Iga and Ise are very far from each other and from Chiryu so this was an extremely long day trip but definitely worth every minute of travel. All of these places had the most beautiful trees also on account of the autumn colours. I wish you could experience it as a camera can only capture so much.

That took a long time to retell but I really enjoyed reliving all that as I typed. Thanks for reading, I wouldn't be writing this if not for you!

I understand Vancouver has a lot of snow. Well you know what Vancouver? Keep your snow, I like it right here where it's 15° and the leaves are still falling. (Bitter? Maybe.)

Peace, Love and Throwing Stars,

Britt


I miss fireplaces.