I started the day at 6:00 am with the service in the temple. About a dozen guests at the temple sat in front of a shrine room, where two monks were chanting. The air was heavy with incense, and sitting listening to the chanting was very meditative in itself. Part way through each person got up to the front to bow and offer incense. Then one of the monks gave a talk for about 20 min.
I had breakfast and made my way to the tourist information center to rent an audio tour. There were three main parts to the tour. The first is Kongobuji, the temple that is the headquarters for Shingon Buddhism. Unfortunately no pictures were allowed inside, but there was a series of rooms with beautiful paintings on the screen walls. Some depict the seasons, some depict the journey of the founder of Shingon Buddhism to China. In the back there is also an amazing rock garden.
Next I took a break from the audio tour and went to the Daishi Kyokai center, which is kind of an outreach place. They offer shakyo practice, or sutra-copying by tracing the characters of the Heart Sutra. The person who met me there spoke English and was very nice, and after I finished the sutra-copying we talked for a while. When I told her I had studied Japanese she encouraged me to speak in Japanese for a while, and it went ok!
I continued with the audio tour to the Garan complex. The most striking building is the large, brightly coloured Great Pagoda. Again, no pictures allowed inside, but it was a very interesting arrangement of four large statues of Bodhisattvas, interspersed with pillars with painting of dieties on them. A kind of three dimensional mandala.
At the far end of the Garan complex are older halls and pagodas. All the buildings are reconstuctions of originals which were lost to fire at one time or another, but the oldest reconstructions date back to the 1800s. This old hall is still the location of religious discussion for monks.
After the Garan area I went back through town, stopped for lunch, and then went back to the Okunoin area. Its such an amazing place. I walked all the way to the mausoleum and back again, listening to audio tour records for all the stops I could find. It is interesting to know how many people are interred here. It is apparently an important resting place regardless of the branch of buddism. The 47 Ronin (the basis for a recent movie) are here. Even Honen, the founder of another Japanese Buddhist lineage, is here. The main thing, though, is just the haunting atmosphere of the place.
That night at the temple I noticed several Tibetan monks. One of them happened be in the bath while was there. He said the Dalai Lama was coming to Koyasan the next day! I was leaving the next morning though! I wasn't sure I understood correctly, but later I checked the Dalai Lama webpage and it was true. He was there to give a series of talks. I don't think they were open to the public though, so I probably didn't miss anything.
The next morning I got up early again, and attended the service. This time there were twice as many people and the little room was packed. There was a group of older Japanese all wearing the same white jackets, who I think are pilgrims.
After the service and breakfast I got the bus to Koyasan station and the cable car and the train back to Osaka. I got tickets for Kanazawa and settled in for the several hour train ride.
I had breakfast and made my way to the tourist information center to rent an audio tour. There were three main parts to the tour. The first is Kongobuji, the temple that is the headquarters for Shingon Buddhism. Unfortunately no pictures were allowed inside, but there was a series of rooms with beautiful paintings on the screen walls. Some depict the seasons, some depict the journey of the founder of Shingon Buddhism to China. In the back there is also an amazing rock garden.
Next I took a break from the audio tour and went to the Daishi Kyokai center, which is kind of an outreach place. They offer shakyo practice, or sutra-copying by tracing the characters of the Heart Sutra. The person who met me there spoke English and was very nice, and after I finished the sutra-copying we talked for a while. When I told her I had studied Japanese she encouraged me to speak in Japanese for a while, and it went ok!
I continued with the audio tour to the Garan complex. The most striking building is the large, brightly coloured Great Pagoda. Again, no pictures allowed inside, but it was a very interesting arrangement of four large statues of Bodhisattvas, interspersed with pillars with painting of dieties on them. A kind of three dimensional mandala.
At the far end of the Garan complex are older halls and pagodas. All the buildings are reconstuctions of originals which were lost to fire at one time or another, but the oldest reconstructions date back to the 1800s. This old hall is still the location of religious discussion for monks.
After the Garan area I went back through town, stopped for lunch, and then went back to the Okunoin area. Its such an amazing place. I walked all the way to the mausoleum and back again, listening to audio tour records for all the stops I could find. It is interesting to know how many people are interred here. It is apparently an important resting place regardless of the branch of buddism. The 47 Ronin (the basis for a recent movie) are here. Even Honen, the founder of another Japanese Buddhist lineage, is here. The main thing, though, is just the haunting atmosphere of the place.
That night at the temple I noticed several Tibetan monks. One of them happened be in the bath while was there. He said the Dalai Lama was coming to Koyasan the next day! I was leaving the next morning though! I wasn't sure I understood correctly, but later I checked the Dalai Lama webpage and it was true. He was there to give a series of talks. I don't think they were open to the public though, so I probably didn't miss anything.
The next morning I got up early again, and attended the service. This time there were twice as many people and the little room was packed. There was a group of older Japanese all wearing the same white jackets, who I think are pilgrims.
After the service and breakfast I got the bus to Koyasan station and the cable car and the train back to Osaka. I got tickets for Kanazawa and settled in for the several hour train ride.
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