Vast expanses of pastel greens and browns are broken by explosions of white and pink. It is cherry blossom time again in Sendai. This year is particularly impressive, the winter temperatures and precipitation causing a riot of blossom, which this week are in full bloom. People are partying in the parks and traffic slows to a crawl along roads lined with cherry trees. People are fascinated by the symbolism of the cherry blossom. They are dependent upon the conditions during the previous winter - directly reflecting the Buddhist ideas of dependent creation. And more importantly, although beautiful, their lives are short and end in decay - reflecting the human condition and the Buddhist ideas on non-permanence and constant change.
Spring
Comes
Again
Offering
Pink cherry blossoms
Beautiful but too soon passing
Apr 14, 2009
Apr 12, 2009
Day 1
We left Temple #2 and walked slightly more than a kilometer to Temple #1, where we finished our shopping.
This is me all dressed up in my new Henro outfit and standing in front of the gate between the store and the temple itself. Once inside the temple grounds, we went to the main hall and did the 9-step rite for the first time.
9-Step Rite:
1. Bow at temple gate
2. Wash hands
3. Ring the bell
4. Give Osamefuda
5. Light a candle
6. Light three incense sticks
7. Put 100 yen in the donation box
8. Recite the Heart Sutra
9. Get the stamps and calligraphy in the book.
Strictly speaking number 9 is not part of the Buddhist rite but, since we did it at every temple and it is an accepted part of the Henro Pilgrimage, it certain felt like part of the rite.
I must say that our chanting of the Heart Sutra left a lot to be desired. As you saw previously, the sutra is written in Chinese with the Japanese readings indicated in kana. Ian was reading from a paper where he had written out the transliteration in English letters. We found that there were a number of differences between his paper and my book. Although we got gradually better at chanting, we never could do it as fast and as smoothly as the Japanese. However, with the exception of one lady you will hear about later, the people we talked to said that our chanting in Japanese was a compliment and that they felt that we honored them, Buddhism, and the temple.
This is the main gate into Temple #1. Ian is standing just to the left of the opening. He was arranging his luggage, which was sometimes a problem, but one that we soon mastered from simple repetition.
After we had finish the 9-step rite, we returned to the shop and had books stamped.
The man doing this is a monk who lives in the temple and spends at least part of the day writting the calligraphy in people's books.
We had now officially started the Pilgrimage, but we had no time to waste because we had to visit seven temples during the day and still return to Temple #6 where we were staying the night.
This is me all dressed up in my new Henro outfit and standing in front of the gate between the store and the temple itself. Once inside the temple grounds, we went to the main hall and did the 9-step rite for the first time.9-Step Rite:
1. Bow at temple gate
2. Wash hands
3. Ring the bell
4. Give Osamefuda
5. Light a candle
6. Light three incense sticks
7. Put 100 yen in the donation box
8. Recite the Heart Sutra
9. Get the stamps and calligraphy in the book.
Strictly speaking number 9 is not part of the Buddhist rite but, since we did it at every temple and it is an accepted part of the Henro Pilgrimage, it certain felt like part of the rite.
I must say that our chanting of the Heart Sutra left a lot to be desired. As you saw previously, the sutra is written in Chinese with the Japanese readings indicated in kana. Ian was reading from a paper where he had written out the transliteration in English letters. We found that there were a number of differences between his paper and my book. Although we got gradually better at chanting, we never could do it as fast and as smoothly as the Japanese. However, with the exception of one lady you will hear about later, the people we talked to said that our chanting in Japanese was a compliment and that they felt that we honored them, Buddhism, and the temple.
This is the main gate into Temple #1. Ian is standing just to the left of the opening. He was arranging his luggage, which was sometimes a problem, but one that we soon mastered from simple repetition.After we had finish the 9-step rite, we returned to the shop and had books stamped.
The man doing this is a monk who lives in the temple and spends at least part of the day writting the calligraphy in people's books.We had now officially started the Pilgrimage, but we had no time to waste because we had to visit seven temples during the day and still return to Temple #6 where we were staying the night.
Apr 11, 2009
Day 0 Coming to the end
After bringing our purchases back to our room, large enough to sleep at least 10 people, , we were directed to a small dinning room and served a meal, mainly vegetarian but with fish (which I gave to Ian). After eating we returned to our room, opened the curtains for the first time, and found a little garden with a cave and a statue of a frog.
Notice that the frog is carrying a baby frog on its back. As I recall this has some deep meaning, but it escapes me at the moment. The room contained a variety of artwork, much of it decorated with the Heart Sutra. However, my favorite was a semi-abstract statue of an Ohenro-san.
In the morning we awoke early and followed the priest through a hallway that went up the hill to the main room of the temple itself. The priest indicated two chairs in the back left corner of the room and made motions for us to sit. He then took his place at the center of the room. At this point I realized that there was another person in the room, sitting in front and to the right of the priest, who had his back to us. After some chants in a voice low enough so that we could not hear, the priest and this other person began chanting. The only thing I recognized was the Heart Sutra somewhere in the middle. The atmosphere was incredible. The lighting was a few candles, barely illuminating a statue at the front and an altar area in front of the priest. Clouds of incense smoke drifted through the air and the chanting, accompanied by the rhythmic beating of a gong, filled our ears. We were not invited to join in any way, so we just sat and took it all in.
Once the service was finished, the priest guided us back to the dinning room where he served us breakfast and then left us alone to eat. Later the woman who had served us the previous night, brought more food and then gave us settai, change purses to carry the coins that we would need at each temple. I was very surprised because these were on sale for 500 yen in the shop. After we finished the meal, we returned to our room and got ready to leave for Temple #1 where we planned to finish our shopping and begin the actual Pilgrimage.
Just a closing note: For the purposes of this blog, I am going to begin my recounting of each day at the point where we started walking. Thus, my days will begin and end around 7 or 8 in the morning.
Notice that the frog is carrying a baby frog on its back. As I recall this has some deep meaning, but it escapes me at the moment. The room contained a variety of artwork, much of it decorated with the Heart Sutra. However, my favorite was a semi-abstract statue of an Ohenro-san.
In the morning we awoke early and followed the priest through a hallway that went up the hill to the main room of the temple itself. The priest indicated two chairs in the back left corner of the room and made motions for us to sit. He then took his place at the center of the room. At this point I realized that there was another person in the room, sitting in front and to the right of the priest, who had his back to us. After some chants in a voice low enough so that we could not hear, the priest and this other person began chanting. The only thing I recognized was the Heart Sutra somewhere in the middle. The atmosphere was incredible. The lighting was a few candles, barely illuminating a statue at the front and an altar area in front of the priest. Clouds of incense smoke drifted through the air and the chanting, accompanied by the rhythmic beating of a gong, filled our ears. We were not invited to join in any way, so we just sat and took it all in.
Once the service was finished, the priest guided us back to the dinning room where he served us breakfast and then left us alone to eat. Later the woman who had served us the previous night, brought more food and then gave us settai, change purses to carry the coins that we would need at each temple. I was very surprised because these were on sale for 500 yen in the shop. After we finished the meal, we returned to our room and got ready to leave for Temple #1 where we planned to finish our shopping and begin the actual Pilgrimage.
Just a closing note: For the purposes of this blog, I am going to begin my recounting of each day at the point where we started walking. Thus, my days will begin and end around 7 or 8 in the morning.
Apr 10, 2009
End of vacation
Yesterday I had my first class of the new academic year. Today I have two more and then next week I have a full schedule - 11 classes at three different universities. The soft life is over. For the next 15 weeks I will have to prepare lesson plans, write and grade quizzes and tests, and keep up with the administrative work. This means that I will have less time for this blog, but I will continue adding to it. I expect that I will be able to make three or four entries a week. Tomorrow I plan to finish my comments about Day 0 of my Henro Pilgrimage and expect that I will be able to start on Day 1 on the following day, Sunday.
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