Sunday

Going on three hours of sleep and a slight hangover, we set off at eight in the Sunday morning in a small tour bus, carrying a few of us foreigners (Melanie, Katie, Heather, Blair, and myself) and a number of middle-aged members of the Kahoku City International Club (a small organization for Japanese people interested in international events, etc.) Our first destination, which only became known to me that morning, was the Fukui Prefectural, get this, Dinosaur Museum. Tucked away in the mountains of the prefecture just south of me, this is a fairly modern construction devoted to those fascinating creatures of millions of years ago. Due to slight traffic issues, it turned out we only had 50 minutes at the museum, but it was probably enough. They had all manner of electronic displays, replica skeletons, exhibits, and hundreds of bits of information about dinosaurs, their lives and times.


Two highlights of note: the first, two giant T.V. screens (actually like 16 big T.V.s stacked together on each side) facing each other, with a crowd standing in the middle. You basically view events of Jurassic times (brought to you through the marvels of CGI) on two interactive screens, meaning that things from one could jump to the other by running toward the crowd, leaping, and ending up on the other sides. Pretty cool, we watched a T-Rex type creature attacking them big guys with the long necks that eat from the tops of trees. The second interesting bit concerned animitronic dinosaurs (i.e. life-size plastic, etc. models that were designed to move exactly like the real thing.) It was definitely Jurassic Park style and quite fun to just stand there and observe the realistic movements, of which there were certainly many. Above and beyond, the best 50 minute museum experience I've ever had...


From there, we got back on the bus and headed to the lunch location for the day at an ALL-TOFU restaurant. When I found out, I almost freaked, because a meal without meat in it is something that I don't like to put myself through. But, turned out to be quite delicious in the end. We ate, literally, about six or seven types of tofu, each prepared in a unique way and served in a beautiful manner. Even the desert was soy-based, but luckily, the rice was just good old rice. After the experience, I became a slightly bigger fan of tofu, but its something that I will have on a rare occasion (naturally just to relish it all that much more)

Next destination, the highlight of the day, of the last couple of days or weeks, actually. First, some background.

In 1200 A.D. a monk named Dogen was born in Japan. Raised around Buddhist monasteries throughout his youth, he himself seriously undertook many practices, going as far as traveling to China and studying under a revered master of Zen, a still developing discipline at the time. According to leged, while in China, Dogen realized the way of the Buddha (which may or may not mean enlightenment) and returned to Japan to teach his own particular form of Zen, which eventually developed into the Soto Zen sect. Unsatisfied with the accomodations offered to him and his disciples by the existing monasteries in Japan, he decided to build a brand new monastery deep in the hills of western Japan where he could freely teach his particular way of practice. He succeeded and built a tremendous testament to his life and work that has withstood the test of time and remained a profoundly influential center of Zen practice to this very day, Eiheiji Temple.



We drove up the mountain, disemarked from the bus and walked through the rather large courtyard into the entrance of the main building in the compound. Amidst other crowds of similarly curious tourists (more on that later), we were met by a monk (or, as they're officially called, priest trainee) and led to the fifth floor and into a large, empty tatami room. All of us (probably around 30 or so) were given small round pillows and told to sit on the ground, on knees at first, later lotus style. Meanwhile, the monk introduced the practice and launched us into a full on zazen session. Now, for me, the whole idea of tucking my large legs under me and sitting still (yes, just the mere idea) is a painful one and here we were, right smack in the middle, getting a brief taste of the monk's life. The first three minutes or so were ok. A little uncomfortable, but bearable. And then, the pain started. First, the thighs, then the lower back, then everything, just throbbing. (All of this comes from, I'm assuming, the lack of practice and perhaps stretching). After five minutes, I was ready to die, but it was a thirty minute session. I felt like I would just fall over at some point and lay there, unable to move, but using every ounce of concentration and energy I had, I focused on the pain, imagining it be temporary, unreal. Didn't help, perhaps made it stronger. And remember, the whole point is to eliminate all thought all together, focus on the stillness, nothingness all around. It was raining heavily outside and all that was audible was the water, slowly running down walls, splashing into puddles. Thirty people, sitting completely still. The energy in the room was incredible, the silence occasionally punctured by the obvious sound of someone getting hit with a large wooden stick (I'm still not sure who it was, but as you may know, this is a common practice in Zen, to snap people to attention.) It was the longest, most powerful and painful thirty minutes of my life, and when the bell came to end the session, I felt like it had only lasted 8 or 9 minutes. Wow. Certainly something to be tried again.

After this, the monk led us on a tour of the monastery, which turned out to be absolutely huge. Many rooms, halls, monks walking around, leading other groups or engaging in all manner of chores. We saw the Founder's Hall, where Dogen's ashes (and of many successors) are kept in urns on prominent display. We saw the kitchen and numerous zazen halls. It was quite an elaborate construction, all devoted to this particular way of life. Utterly tremendous overall.

But, it did strike me just how many tourists there were, all having paid an admission price, all walking around hoping for a glimpse of a life they could never commit themselves to. And on top of that, the numerous stalls outside the monastery peddling all sorts of wares to these tourists. Yeah, on the one hand here is this 800 year old temple that has served as a center for enlightenment to so many aspiring Buddhists, and on the other its a commercial money-maker. Taints it a bit, but I won't go any further, because I have absolutely no right to pass judgment. Overall, I had a really refreshing time there and being inside such an institution was one reason for coming to Japan, so I'm fairly glad I got to do it. Oh, for those interested and planning on coming here, many of these types of monasteries, including this one, allow guests to stay in them and live like a monk for a day, two, or however many. It does not cost that much, but you do everything as the monks do, including zazen, eating, cleaning, etc. I'm planning on doing that soon and if anyone is interested, lets talk about it.



Ok. Enough out of me. Its been a long day, and a new week is about to start. Take care. Hope all is well.