Hongwanji Trip - Otani Hombyo

Nishi Hongwanji's Otani Hombyo is in the Higashiyama District in eastern Kyoto. Not far from Kiyomizu Temple. This, of course, is the Otani Mausoleum where Shinran Shonin is venerated. It is location of the Columbarium. Shinran's daughter Kakushin-in created the mausoleum, which later became of the Hongwanji. It also has been moved around in its history. Now, there are two, as Higashi Hongwanji has its own mausoleum not too far from here.

There is a memorial to Kakushin-in, in appreciation of her duty to her father.

Although the columbarium is open to anyone, the BCA has its own niche to keep in perpetual memorial the names of the deceased in the United States. Each District also has its own, and even individual temples own their own niches. Gardena Buddhist Church does have its own.

Hongwanji Trip - Ryukoku University

Ryukoku University is a Jodo Shinshu university and is affiliated with Nishi Hongwanji. It is considered to be Japan's oldest university, found in 1639. In comparison, Harvard University in Boston was founded in 1636. Originally, Ryukoku is the school to train priests for the Hongwanji. It became a secular school in 1876.

The president of Ryukoku University does not have to be affiliated a priest, but generally is a member of the Hongwanji. The chair of the department of religion has to be affiliated with the Hongwanji.

We visited two of the campuses. Omiya which is within the Hongwanji Complex and Fukasaka, which is the main campus.

http://www.ryukoku.ac.jp/english/index.html

The university is small and has seven faculties. Its central theme is Science, Humanities and Religion. It is known as one of the top school for engineering science in Japan.

We met the public information person in the religious hall - a simple and sparse hall with a contemporary naijin, consisting of the myoji as written by Shinran. It has has morning services every morning, but in this secular world very few students attend regularly each morning.

It is a beautiful campus with many brick buildings.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

What does St. Patrick has to do with Jodo Shinshu? Nothing. But cheers to green beer.

Today we held our services for O-Higan. Higan services are done twice a year, once at spring equinox and the other at the vernal equinox.

From http://mothra.rerf.or.jp/ENG/Hiroshima/Festivals/35.html

"The Higan observance comes from a Buddhist belief that when the night and day are equally divided, Buddha appears on earth for a week to save stray souls and lead them to Nirvana. Having been so long followed by.the people, this Buddhist service has also created many customs that make it a big social event."

"Higan, meaning the other shore comes from the Buddhist idea that there is a river marking the division of this earthly world and the future world of salvation. The river is full of illusions, passion, pain and sorrow. Only when one crosses the river, fighting strong currents of temptation, to the other shore, does one gain enlightenment."

In Jodo Shinshu, of course, we don't believe that Buddha will appear on earth, but Higan is a reminder of the river of illusions, passion, pain and sorrow.

Nirvana Day

Its been awhile since I posted. I'm still doing some research on the sites and places I visited in Kyoto back in November... I want to make sure my posts are accurate.

Last week, it was our service for "Nirvana Day." It is the day that Sakyamuni Buddha died. It is a major event, but not the significant day for our religion. That day, of course, is what we call "Bodhi Day," the Day of Enlightenment, and that we celebrate with a service in December.

It is possible to confuse the two events. But as Buddhists, we do not need proof of the Enlightenment on Sakyamuni's passing. His teachings after gaining Enlightenment (or Awareness) shows us how.

Next week is the National Council Meeting for the BCA. It should be an important meeting for the future of our religion in the U.S.

Ghibli Museum in Mitaka, Tokyo

Before I went to Kyoto, I had the opportunity to visit the Ghibli Museum which was located in the Tokyo suburb of Mitaka. This was easily reached from Shinjuku by express trains.

Once you arrive at the Mitaka station, the Ghibli magic starts to unfold. I could see the signs for the Ghibli bus, but I believe the "catbus" was not working that day, so I hiked the 2000 meters to the museum.

It was very easy to figure out how to get there, there are signs from the beginning that told you how many meters away you are from the museum, all done in the same Miyazaki style. In front of each sign, in the concrete-bricked sidewalks, were some with footprints of Ghibli characters. Every 250 meters were these sign posts and footprints.

The walk was very nice as it followed a little creek and the homes and businesses here were rather large (by Japanese standards) homes or two story buildings. The Ghibli Museum is located in a park and has a very woodsy feel.

When you reach the museum by foot, you will be greeted by Totoro at the corner of the museum. Part of the museum is underground so it is not taller than the buildings surrounding it. Everything seems to be part of the environment. In fact the theme of the museum is "let's lose our way together." Therefore, there is no set map to explore the museum, and every visitor has his or her own to explore.

One of the rooms has dioramas and simple mirror maquettes to demonstrate the elementary elements of animation. (No picture taking was allowed inside the museum.) Everyone is given a ticket to see the exclusive short inside the theatre. The movie theatre upon entering is lit and airy. Wait a minute, how could they show a film inside this room, which was decorated with vines and greenery. Before the short started, the windows closed up! The short had no conversation, we just watched a girl walk along a path and sounds are all we heard. The sounds were emphasized by katakana. As in most Miyazaki films, the gifls ends up befriending a spirit, who in turn gives her a gift on her way home.

Another room in the museum recreates the messy studio of Miyazaki with a lot of details. There was another room that was only open for children but had the worlds largest stuffed cat bus where kids could climb in and out of like the girls in the "Totoro."

Of course, there were things to buy in the store and bookstore. Outside there was a concession stand and a small restaurant called the Straw Hat. I think most of the girls in Miyazaki films wears a kind of hat. Even the beer that they sold had on it a label done in the Ghibli style, and of course, I brought one home (empty) as a souvenir.

It was museum that made sense in the world of Ghibli.

"Lets lose our way together."

Hongwanji Overseas Representatives Seminar 2

It was my first time at morning services, but fortunately the BCA ministers had taken their Tokudo training at Hongwanji and was familiar.

It is the custom to bow towards the o-naijin when entering the complex at the gate (also when leaving).

The Hongwanji has two halls - Amida-do, the largest one, and the Gyoei-do. Both are used at the services, however the Gyoei-do is under restoration and not currently used.

You take your shoes off before climbing the stairs to the Amida-do. You could use the plastic bags to take them inside with you, but there aren't that many people, so I just left mine outside. TIP: It is a good idea to wear shoes that you can slip on and off easily, because it is something that you will do all the time in Japan, especially in Kyoto.

Bow, before entering the hall and you will notice several things. It is huge and covered with tatami that run across the hall. There are no chairs, however, folding chairs are provided to use on the tatami - since even most Japanese no longer sit on the floor. Also there are no heaters and very low light. As we learned later in our orientation, this is the reason gold is used inside the halls to reflect any available lighting.

Part one of the service starts with entrance of the priests (which including students, are many) and the sutra Sanbutsuge is chanted in front of the statue of Amida Buddha.

Part two of the service is the chanting of Shoshinge in front of Shinran, and usually done in the Gyoei-do, but since it is under renovation, the naijin is set up to the left of the Amida Buddha. The priests all move to a new position. Usually six wasans are included and the numbers are posted on the pillar. Then the Gobunsho is brought down and one of the letters from Rennyo is read. Then the lecturer will give a Dharma talk. (All in Japanese.) There are service books that you can borrow, but you have to remember to pick one up on the way in, or bring your own.

No you don't have to sit "seiza" (Japanese-style), but I even find sitting cross-legged to be a numbing experience.

After this service, we went to get breakfast at the Royal Host, which served American-style pancakes and had a drinks bar. It took us awhile to figure out the coffee machine, and we found out that you could make your own iced coffee.

Next: Hongwanji Orientation.

Hongwanji Overseas Representatives Seminar 1

On arrival to Kyoto, the representatives from the BCA (five lay representatives and two ministers) spent the night in the dorms at the Kokusai Center (Hongwanji International Center). It is the same dorms that overseas students would stay while they are studying at the Hongwanji.

The Kokusai Center is also the office that coordinates activities with each of the overseas districts - Canada, Hawaii, South America and the BCA. It also serves as the welcome center for anyone from these districts. It is located about two blocks east of the Hongwanji, along the street that also servers as the northern border of the main complex.

It was late for most of us to get dinner, so we had gone to the local Lawsons (a convenience store chain) for some food, drinks and supplies.

The next morning, our session didn't start until 10:00 am, but we woke up in time for the 6:30 am Asaji (Morning Service) at the Hongwanji.

Next: Morning Service