Daijoji is an old magnificent temple at the edge of a park in the suburbs of Kanazawa. Historically it is one of the main Soto zen temples, next to the headquarters temple at Eiheiji.
It turns out there are only 6 monks staying there in addition to the head priest. After the first day I was the only visitor.
The first day there was a group of very young Japanese guys, all about 19, who were starting jobs at a company. The company sent them to stay in a temple for a day. I thought this was kind of cool, but apparently its not very common and the guys all thought it was just wierd. I joined them in their training and we all slept in the same room. They were typical goofy 19 year olds in a way. One of the guys English was pretty good which helped, and it was pretty fun.
After the group left I was on my own, and fell into the routine of temple life.
While for most of my trip the weather has been very good, during this week it turned bitterly cold. Kanazawa is a little further north than Kyoto, and Daijoji is a little higher up a hill. Temples have no heat and are open to the air, and so it was sleeping outside when the temperature dropped to about 5 degrees at night. I slept with pants, socks, fleece, toque, and 3 blankets. And then got up at 4 am to meditate with bare feet in the freezing cold. It definitely added a new dimension of mindfullness during meditation.
The daily 4:30 am mediations are open to the public, and a couple of times and older Japanese man joined us.
After meditation there is a service in the main hall. The monks sit lined up before the altar and perform various chants, while two monks hit drums and gongs in synchronization. It is quite a show, and lasts about half an hour. In front of the hall there were always about 4 older Japanese ladies who came to attend the service with heads bowed.
During the day there were three work periods before each meal, and I did things like wipe floors, vacuum the hall, rake leaves, etc. Every meal was a formal affair with chanting, eating in silence, and a certain protocol for serving food. Afterward everyone took part in cleaning up.
After every meal there was a rest time for about an hour and a half, where I caught up on sleep or read. It was interesting to have this time where I was kind of forced to slow down, be in one place, follow the routine - in contrast to the busy running around and sight-seeing that I often do when travelling. On one hand I appreciated the break, but at the same time my mind kind of rebelled against it. This was probably the main discipline of staying there.
There are 3 junior monks, the youngest of which had only been there 2 weeks. Another, who had been there 6 months, was originally from Sri Lanka but had been living in Japan for the past 5 years. These two spoke fairly good English, and if it wasnt for them I would have been pretty lost. They were very nice and helpful and always made sure that I had what I needed and that I was on track in terms of the routine.
Every Sunday there is an afternoon mediation that is open to the public, and this one is very well attended. Id say about 30 people came.
Periodically there is a visiting teacher for the junior monks. For example on "chado" or the "way of tea". During the week that I was there, there was a teacher of "kodo" or the "way of incense". They even brought an English interpreter for my benefit. The "kodo" was very interesting. Each incense is linked in some way with Japanese literature, some poetry from a particular historical period. With plenty of ceremony, we each smelled a set of three incense bowls. Afterward we smelled incense bowls and had to guess which one each of them was. The variations in the smell were very subtle (to me, anyway) and I only got one correct. For each one that someone got correct, one of the monks did a calligraphy of one the related poems.
At the end of the week I said goodbye. They were all very nice, and the assistant to the head priest even drove me to the bus stop.
It was very good to have this time in the middle of my trip. It allows the whole trip to come into focus a bit instead of being a blur of sights. I think I will need time to process the whole experience some more.
It turns out there are only 6 monks staying there in addition to the head priest. After the first day I was the only visitor.
The first day there was a group of very young Japanese guys, all about 19, who were starting jobs at a company. The company sent them to stay in a temple for a day. I thought this was kind of cool, but apparently its not very common and the guys all thought it was just wierd. I joined them in their training and we all slept in the same room. They were typical goofy 19 year olds in a way. One of the guys English was pretty good which helped, and it was pretty fun.
After the group left I was on my own, and fell into the routine of temple life.
While for most of my trip the weather has been very good, during this week it turned bitterly cold. Kanazawa is a little further north than Kyoto, and Daijoji is a little higher up a hill. Temples have no heat and are open to the air, and so it was sleeping outside when the temperature dropped to about 5 degrees at night. I slept with pants, socks, fleece, toque, and 3 blankets. And then got up at 4 am to meditate with bare feet in the freezing cold. It definitely added a new dimension of mindfullness during meditation.
The daily 4:30 am mediations are open to the public, and a couple of times and older Japanese man joined us.
After meditation there is a service in the main hall. The monks sit lined up before the altar and perform various chants, while two monks hit drums and gongs in synchronization. It is quite a show, and lasts about half an hour. In front of the hall there were always about 4 older Japanese ladies who came to attend the service with heads bowed.
During the day there were three work periods before each meal, and I did things like wipe floors, vacuum the hall, rake leaves, etc. Every meal was a formal affair with chanting, eating in silence, and a certain protocol for serving food. Afterward everyone took part in cleaning up.
After every meal there was a rest time for about an hour and a half, where I caught up on sleep or read. It was interesting to have this time where I was kind of forced to slow down, be in one place, follow the routine - in contrast to the busy running around and sight-seeing that I often do when travelling. On one hand I appreciated the break, but at the same time my mind kind of rebelled against it. This was probably the main discipline of staying there.
There are 3 junior monks, the youngest of which had only been there 2 weeks. Another, who had been there 6 months, was originally from Sri Lanka but had been living in Japan for the past 5 years. These two spoke fairly good English, and if it wasnt for them I would have been pretty lost. They were very nice and helpful and always made sure that I had what I needed and that I was on track in terms of the routine.
Every Sunday there is an afternoon mediation that is open to the public, and this one is very well attended. Id say about 30 people came.
Periodically there is a visiting teacher for the junior monks. For example on "chado" or the "way of tea". During the week that I was there, there was a teacher of "kodo" or the "way of incense". They even brought an English interpreter for my benefit. The "kodo" was very interesting. Each incense is linked in some way with Japanese literature, some poetry from a particular historical period. With plenty of ceremony, we each smelled a set of three incense bowls. Afterward we smelled incense bowls and had to guess which one each of them was. The variations in the smell were very subtle (to me, anyway) and I only got one correct. For each one that someone got correct, one of the monks did a calligraphy of one the related poems.
At the end of the week I said goodbye. They were all very nice, and the assistant to the head priest even drove me to the bus stop.
It was very good to have this time in the middle of my trip. It allows the whole trip to come into focus a bit instead of being a blur of sights. I think I will need time to process the whole experience some more.
