Mount Koya! 山

I can’t believe I’ve only been here three weeks! So much to catch up on!

So this past weekend we went on our first field trip. We went to Koyasan for two days, one night and stayed in a Buddhist temple to experience simple monk food and traditional ways. Or so the pamphlet says. =P

We all met up at the JR station (Japanese Railway) and headed as a group to Koyasan! Koyasan is surrounded by a group of mountains and the place we were staying at is basically at the center of it. The monks (who spoke only in Japanese) told us that their temple was made many years ago and it was in the central part of what they picture as a large lotus flower; the surrounding mountains represent the petals. Lotus flowers, for those who don’t know, grow out of the muck at the bottom of a water body and then grow towards the light and become beautiful flowers. So it is very symbolic in a lot of asian cultures as spiritual enlightenment or as the heart/soul in general.

When we got off our last train, we took an incline up to the top of the mountain (we were literally in the clouds) and then took taxis to our temple. Except my small group got to ride with the monk which was awesome! (“It’s like riding in the pope-mobile!”) We dropped our stuff off in the house/temple. It’s more like a lodging for mountain travelers seeking refuge. So although they do have praying rooms, they also have accommodations for lodging. I was in the large room of girls. So nine of us all went upstairs to our tatami room and it was SO cold. Good thing they equipped us with heavy futons (and good thing I brought my leggings!). There was also a TV, which I really wasn’t expecting! (“Monks watch TV?!”) I should have brought my electrical chargers after all! Arg! Who expects an outlet when you’re housed by monks??

After we had set all our things down, we had lunch that our host families had packed for us. Everyone had cute bentos (lunch boxes) wrapped in furoshikis! (Basically a handkerchief-like clothe). We ate on floor mats in a big tatami room. Then they took us on a guided tour of the expansive cemetery that’s in Koyasan. There were literally thousands of graves everywhere and LOADS of famous people are buried there (well famous for Japan mostly): The founders of the temple, the original Panasonic owners, the people who started Nissan, some famous samurai, feudal lords, etc. Almost all of the graves had huge headstones that were hundreds of years old! But the monks and caretakers keep them up so well that they are all in very good shape. Many of the graves and shrines had 10 strands of 100 cranes people had offered to them. 1000 cranes are said to bring good luck and happiness. The grounds were separated by 3 bridges: ichiban no hashi (first bridge), Naka no Hashi (middle bridge), and Gobyo bashi which leads to the main temple. The bridges are said to connect the physical world to the spiritual world so that you can become closer to them. I took so many pictures my camera nearly gave out! Each time I was like “okay, no more pictures of graves” and then I’d think *Ooo, this looks pretty! Snap!* Many of the headstones were set up in a 5 part structure: A, VA, RA, HA, KA. Earth, Water, Fire, Wind, Spirit.

To enter the third bridge and the Koubou Daishi Mausoleum it led to, everyone had to make an offering (water) and bow to the god statues that were lined up next to the bridge. Then you have to bow before the bridge (as we did with all three bridges) and go on. Beyond the third bridge was the main temple. There was a fun challenge in the first bit where you had to lift up a very heavy rock with your hand and toss it/nudge it up to the level above it (about a foot higher). If you managed it and think of a wish beforehand then you get your wish granted! I did it! (but with two hands, I must admit, though our tour guide said that still counts so =P)

After walking around the temple (which had an offering space kind of like an enlarged version of Ikuta Shrine which I wrote about earlier), we bought some small good luck charms with our zodiac symbols on it and then they took us a to a souvenir shop that was close by. We all bought omiyage for our host families. (Omiyage means a souvenir or gift. They are a big part of Japanese life because you are expected to buy them every time you travel somewhere big or go to someone else’s house, etc.) Usually, you get the food that the place is most famous for so I asked and it was a special type of tofu. I really don’t like tofu so I don't know if this was good or not but I didn't like it when I tried it later. >< I also got some mochi (my favorite! It’s like a doughy, sweet ball that has flower on the outside and bean paste in the middle = YUM) and some crunchy snack food.

We returned to our lodging after that and had a typical monk dinner. Now I know they don’t eat meat, but MAN do they eat well! Everything was so tasty! Miso, rice, fried potato, eggplant, beans, fruit, the works. 

Around that time we also had scheduled bath time. All of us got bathroom time slots that we signed up for. There were a few single times but most of us showered in groups. So like I had a group of 4 girls. I know, weird right? But that’s the Japanese way. It was a little embarrassing at first but we got over it. You get changed in a connecting room and then shower/clean outside the bath. And then once you’re clean, go into the bath, which was SO nice and warm! It was very relaxing.

We basically had free time for the rest of the night so we just hung out, talked, played card games, etc. We even discovered a kotatsu in our room, which is basically a heated table with a blanket coming out of it to cover you. =) Very useful in the winter. (Or when you’re in the mountains!)

The next day we got up at the crack of dawn and attended a half hour chanting session. It was actually kind of neat the way they did it. There were two monks and in order to always have one of them continue the chant, they staggered their intake of breath by about 20 seconds so that when one of them ran out of breath the other could keep going and vice versa. Their synchronicity was amazing! Same words, tone, inflection; it may as well have been a single voice.

Breakfast was next so we enjoyed another monk prepared meal of pretty much the same stuff as the day before. Then we went to an hour and a half meditation session. We only actually meditated for about 15 minutes but the head monk was explaining the thought process to us in Japanese. The meditation they do is called Ajikan which is different from Zen meditation. In Zen, you are supposed to completely wipe your mind of every thought but in Ajikan you are supposed to think about a beautiful place somewhere far away that has nice clean air. You focus on that place so that when events and sounds are happening around you, they kind of pass by without causing you to think of anything. He had us expand our image by first thinking of the temple we were in, then the Koya san mountain, then the city, then Japan, Asia, Asia + Russia, etc. And he had us come back the same way. When you take in a breath, you breath in that clear air and then when you exhale, it’s supposed to cleanse your body of bad things. You’re supposed to have your eyes and mouth slightly open and fold your hands on top of one another with your thumbs meeting. It was quite relaxing actually.

That day we went to a nearer temple and wandered around a bit. There was a library with a turning wheel on the outside so you have seven or so people all push together and it turns. It’s said that many people cannot read the kanji that’s in the books within the library so in order to get closer to the texts and gods spiritually, you turn the wheel physically. This temple had a lot of rooms to look at and a rock garden and such. Afterwards, we walked around the town but it was basically a big tourist trap. I did buy a couple of really cute hairclips though (that were quite expensive… =X). We had lunch on our own and then burabura-ed (wandered) slowly back to the house. We stopped at an ice cream shop that was really close by because we had been hearing from all of our fellow ryuugakusei that they sold grape ice cream. I got the last one! (Sorry, Richard!) Then we just chatted and hung about until it was time to leave. Overall, a really cool experience!

Next time: what we did in Osaka when we returned!

Word of the day:　山 “Yama” or Mountain.

Second word of the day: 寒い "Samui" or Cold.

それではまた次回!