The temple Jinguji in Matsumoto

Beauty and compassion

Weeping cherry tree at the gate of the temple Jinguji

I had the privilege of visiting this temple, participating in ceremonies there, as well as performing in some concerts.  Records of the founding of the temple no longer exist, but it was a Shingon temple at one time.  Now it is in the Myoshinji branch of the Rinzai Zen tradition.  There are some rather old images and structures, and it is certainly very scenic.  However, the temple's chief priest is certainly one of its biggest assets.  

This flame is said to be from the atomic bombing of Hiroshima

The raked garden.  The stairway leads to the hall of Medicine Buddha

Hall of Medicine Buddha

The temple is located in the Asama Onsen area near Matsumoto in Nagano prefecture.  The onsen (hot spring) zone is rather quiet these days--once it was quite lively, with a geisha community as one of the attractions.  Now it is mostly quiet but classy inns that are proud of their bathing facilities. 

There are many temples with the name Jinguji, since the name refers to a certain movement to establish Buddhist temples (ji) joined with 'Shinto' shrines (jingu).  But that was a long time ago.  There is still a shrine near the temple, but otherwise, the temple has nothing 'jingu-ish' about it.  

The covered corridor is the approach to the main hall

Avalokitesvara in the lobby of the multi-purpose hall

The chief priest, Rev Takahashi (usually called 'Jin-san') is devout, open-minded, innovative and especially devoted to nuclear accident-related causes.  Right after the nuclear accident in Chernobyl, he visited that area some 30 times to assist with aid efforts.  He is now working to aid victims and improve government response and regulations after the Fukushima tsunami/nuclear accident.  

In addition to all that, he has a congregation (danka) to care for.  I saw him in action over the weekend.  The main hall of the temple is in the style of a high-class mansion of the old days--in the past, devout nobles would convert their mansions into temples, meaning that the space is usually large, covered with tatami mats, but the ceiling is of a height more suitable for residential use.  The altar in the main hall of Jinguji is dedicated to Shakyamuni.  It is beautiful, but the space not really suited to the needs of the large congregation--more people want to sit in chairs these days, rather than on the matted floor, for one thing.  So Jin-san decided to build a multi-purpose hall.  This was where the events I participated in were held.  The building is pretty much like a school multi-purpose room, except that there are about 35 niches with altars built into the side walls.  They are all identical black shrines with gilded statues inside, so the atmosphere is definitely Buddhist. 

The altar of the main hall

A shrine to the baby Shakyamuni

Worshippers can ladle amacha over the statue

This hall holds up to 300, and we did the same ceremony/event three times, so the total attendance might have been nearly 1000.  The concept was a combined service of the 'Hana Matsuri' (celebration of the birth of Shakyamuni, usually observed on April 8, but a few days later in this case), plus a remembrance of all who passed away in the past year, as well as victims of the Fukushima disaster and the Kobe earthquake.  Two other musicians and I were asked to participate.  The stage setting was simple, but with several large flower arrangements.  There was a crystal basin on a plexiglass stand, with the typical baby Shakyamuni statue (he is standing and waving his hand, able to walk and talk at birth).  The basin is filled with a kind of herbal tea 'amacha' which is poured over the statue with small ladles.  This was set up in front of a projection screen.  The service started with beautiful photos of cherry blossoms (just in season in Matsumoto), accompanied by tsuzumi sounds.  Then, a narrator started to relate the life of Shakyamuni, as Mr. Mikio Tsuji accompanied on his 11-string alto guitar.  Next, the chief priest of another temple did a 'goeika,' a kind of hymn.  She accompanied herself with a small bell and tiny gong.  Then, Jin-san entered and symbolically poured amacha over the Shakyamuni statue.  Next, he did three formal prostrations after first unfolding a ceremonial kneeling cloth.  Then, he dropped some 'shoko' incense chips in his censer and started to recite the Heart Sutra.  He has a very unusual way of doing this, with variations in tempo that emphasize certain meanings.  I joined in with tsuzumi--a rather unusual combination, and then Tsuji-san started with the guitar and Mr. Yoshiharu Karino added his flute.  The other chief priest also joined in the recitation, having practiced with Jin-san before. 

Alcove in our 'green room'

Three musicians in the 'green room'

The bell tower, with another weeping cherry

Finally, the 'Gyate gyate' section was repeated three times with no accompaniment.  Next was the time for the congregation to offer shoko incense while pictures of the deceased were projected, and Jin-san read the names on the symbolic stupas, the 'otoba.'  The service ended with the usual dedication of merit, 'e ko.'  Part two was a mini-concert by the three musicians.  Then, in part three, a survivor of the Fukushima disaster was introduced for an interview.  She has become an activist for both rehabilitation/recovery and monitoring of government responses.

This old traditional building is Kiku no Yu

The bath is decorated with stylized chrysanthemums

Tsuji-san and Karino-san waiting for dinner 

First course: basket of goodies with cherry blossoms

We did the first ceremony on Saturday afternoon.  Then, we went to the 'Kiku no yu' or Chrysanthemum Bath.  It was actually an inn with a bath, and the inns seem to follow this name pattern, always 'The (something) Bath' rather than 'The (something) Inn.'  We had the upstairs dining room reserved, so we left our stuff in the room and went to the ground-level bath.  There was an enclosed garden to enjoy while soaking.  Then we went back upstairs for an incredible multi-course meal.  

The next day, we did the program at 10:00 and 2:00.  We finally left Jinguji around 4:30 or 5:00.  Another remarkable thing about Jinguji is that there is a group of Mongolian refugees that work there.  I wasn't able to find out how they ended up at Jinguji, but they were lucky to have Jin-san sponsoring them.  They worked with a crew of younger Japanese, handling parking, ushering during the service, stage operations, sound and lighting as well as setting up the 300 chairs and putting them away afterward.  Mrs. Jin-san was wonderful, kind and soft-spoken.  She gave us amacha herbal tea to drink, and gave us boxes of pastries to take home.   And to think, they actually paid me to do this.  

(Click on photos to see larger versions)

Eating as a spiritual practice

Buddhist breakfast

'Itadakimasu'--the standard thing to say before eating in Japan.  What a phrase, what complex layers of meaning.  Itadaku is a humble verb meaning 'partake.'  Japanese has ways of speaking that reflect the humility of the speaker.  It seems remarkably consonant with one of the Six Verses for Training the Mind from the Tibetan Buddhist tradition: 'In any group, I will consider myself to be the lowest in rank.'  A fairly tough concept for most Americans (including me) to get their heads around.  The verb form itadakimasu is formal, suggesting respect for the food and those who prepared it.  So itadakimasu 'I humbly partake, with respect' is kind of like grace, but no god is involved--makes things so easy!  Probably 100% of school kids in Japan learn to say this at lunch.  No worries about religion in the lunchroom, who goes to what temple or church, or who believes or doesn't.  Just humility and respect.  

I went to a ceremony at the temple Sensoji this morning, starting at 7:00 AM, that involved about 30 minutes of chanting (the sutra of Avalokitesvara, = chapter 25 of the Lotus Sutra) in the main hall of the temple.  Then we moved to the Shoin, a traditional chamber in the garden of the former monastery Denboin.  There we did 'sai jiki,' which is a Buddhist way of eating.  The spiritual side is the point, much more than the nutritional side.  The food was about as simple as can be, okayu, which is rice cooked with extra water so that it is almost souplike.  Nothing is added, so the taste is just bland white rice.  By the way, this is a traditional breakfast in many parts of Asia, usually available at a hotel breakfast, for example.  Strongly salted side dishes are eaten with the gruel. Today's meal was typical--yellow takuan pickled radish, kelp boiled in sweet soy sauce, and gobo (a root vegetable) also cooked in a very salty way. But first, there was a ceremony, which I was struggling to read in Japanese.  First there was the invocation of the law, the Buddha and the sangha.  Then, we formed the meditation hand gesture to read affirmations of our respect for the food and  our hope for all sentient beings who hunger, both in the physical sense as well as the spiritual, both in this world and in worlds beyond this one.  A small plate was passed around, and each person added one bite of rice to the plate, as a symbolic offering.  This took five or ten minutes, and then finally we said 'Itadakimasu!'  Everyone ate silently, and finished rather quickly--for me, soupy rice takes a while to eat with chopsticks.  Then, tea kettles were passed around, and everyone filled the empty rice bowl with tea(or was it hot water?).  With one's last slice of radish, the inside of the bowl was wiped clean, and the tea was drunk, leaving the dishes clean.  Many monastics eat all their meals this way.  Next, there was a short sermon.  Afterwards, we took a spin around the garden.  

It is easy to apply an esoteric (mikkyo) Buddhist interpretation to this--actions of body, speech and mind are called mysteries, I think because of the effects they have.  This is karma.  Often, the link between cause and effect can be less than obvious--I don't suppose any homeless people actually had their hunger assuaged by our efforts.  But the idea is that the intention is what counts.  So we chanted and meditated for our minds.  We spoke our prayers and took action in the form of offering food and also eating in a humble and respectful way.  

The setting was probably a bit too luxurious.  The nineteenth-century building was lavishly detailed, decorated with beautiful hanging scrolls, and the entire side of the building facing the garden was completely open.  The group is a kind of club at the temple, and I was able to participate through an introduction by a friend.  

Here is the famous view of the Shoin with the pagoda of Sensoji in the background:

Thanks for reading!  (I think you can see a higher resolution if you click on the photo)