The Necessary Condition is Love

22nd April: Kamakura

Today I succeeded in negoriating the Kyoto subway train system and found the express train to Shinagawa. I met up with Jon at the station and he took me to his delightful all wood recently constructed house in Kamakura where he treated me to a very nice veggie lunch. I met his wife and daughter. After a siesta, we went for a walk down to the coast to see Komyoji Temple. This temple was first built in 1243 by Tsunetoki Hojo, the 4th regent of the Kamakura feudal governament. The first head priest was Ryochu Shonin (aKA Kishuzenji). It is one of the seven major Jodo-shu temples in Japan. The temple is relatively plain and has a friendly open feel. We visited the gates, main hall and cemetery. There is a rather fine painting in simple style of Honen Shonin in the main hall.

Throughout, we had much good conversation with Jon doing much of the talking filling me in on various aspects of the Buddhist scene in Japan and developments in his personal life. He told me how his attitude to religion has shifted since he has had involvement with Pureland at a time during which much has also been happening for him personally.

It was exhilerating to get out for a brisk walk and to smell the sea. I purchased some oranges as my body is missing fruit which has been virtually absent from my diet for several days.

We got a train back into Tokyo and Jon showed me my quarters in Zojoji Temple where I shall be for the next three nights. I have a pleasant Japanese style room. Left to my own devices I unpacked and organised my space, reviewed the papers that I shall present tomorrow, downloaded today's photographs and the day before yesterday's lecture, ate food I bought at the station, and spent a blissful half hour in the Japanese bath in the basement relaxing in hot water. Another extremely full and rewarding day.

21st April: Taima-dera

Todays Adachi sensei arranged for Yamanaka san to take me to Taima-dera Temple. I was thinking this might be exess to reirements, though it was obviously very kind of them both. I have visited temples before as a tourist and often one is more saddened than edified to see centres of spirituality turned into museums and this particular day I was tired from jetlag and many engagements, and with more to follow I might have relished a more relaxing day, but it would have been churlish to refuse. In the event, however, the day confounded my ungracious expectations.

The journey took the best part of two hours going, rather less back as we caught a faster train. Taima-dera is famous for its mandala tapestry depicting Amida Nyorai in the Pure Land of Bliss. This mandala was made in the seventh century by a princess become nun. Her story is the stuff of fairy tales with a wicked step-mother, attempted assassinations, refuge in a monstery and eventual apotheosis. I had read about the mandala in books and have a print of it back in Narborough kindly given to me by Ando sensei.

We reached the temple which is on the slopes of a mountain, Nishiyama, itself long associated with the Pure Land because the sun goes down behind it. The temple precinct is quite large encompassing a main temple on three halls, four major sub-temples and nine lesser ones, and inner precint further up the hill and numerous gardens, the most impressive being within the inner precinct, laid out to represent the design of the famous mandala itself.

I was quite taken with the gardens and strayed from our route to spend some time in them. I also enjoyed the ancient architecture. Eventually we made our way into the central hall where one full scale replica of the mandala hangs. The original, being silk and 1300 years old cannot be put on public view as the light would desroy what is left of it. The replicas are themselves several hundred years old. It was interesting.

Then we met up with a woman who is evidently part of one of the temple families. Adachi sensei had prepared the way for us. We were taken round the two slightly smaller halls associated with the main one. One of these was Shingon, enshrining Maitreya with four impressive guardians trampling down jaki (ogres). This, apparntly was the original main hall. Our guide taught me two things. Firstly, I got a real sense of Shingon as an esoteric religion - a secret cult in which, unlike today, the sacred figures would actually be seen by hardly anybody - rather as in the religion of ancient Egypt. It was a religion of mysteries in the original sense. Then she explained the festival that is held every year on the anniversary of the death of the princess. At that time a catwalk is built from the main gate to the main hall which is quite a long way and there is then enacted a mystery play. Seishi and Kwannon and the 25 bodhisattvas descend from the hall, representing Sukhavati, and come and collect the people from the gate and take them back. It enacts what happens at the time of death "so that people shall have no doubts about what is going to happen".

I was quite moved by this account. We went on to a sumptuous lunch privided in a charming Japanese style room, yet my mind was preoccupied with what had been imparted. I now had a strong and completely new sense of the extent to which Japanese religion as a whole is an anticipation of the death time. As we sat eating lunch, the breeze swept gently into the building like the wind of impermanence. All this is bound soon to pass. A great tenderness welled up inside me looking at each person, each flower in the garden beyond the balcony, even the buildings themselves under the aspect of impending impermanence that seemed somehow simultaneously to be the aspect of eternity. It was a gently indulgent feeling. If we are all soon to pass they follies we fall into are of small account.

In this mild rapture I was led on to meet Rev. Kyosyo Kawanaka, an assistant priest whom I had met briefly on a previous visit to Japan. He showed us round the inner precinct. In the central hall I remarked that there seemed to be no altar figure. A screen was lifted and the hidden figure was revealed. Reverend Kyosyo explained. At the time when Honen Shonin was about sixty years old he had a disciple called Saemon Kuwabara, a samurai. Kuwabara was devoted to Honen. He was also a skilled wood sculptor and in his devotion secretly made this statue of his master. This statur before us, therefore, was an actual life portrait. When it was finished, Kuwabara confessed to Honen that he had made this nearly life size carving and asked Honen if he would perform the traditional ceemony of drawing in the eyes and thereby giving the statue its soul, which Honen consented to do. I found this story and the evident piety of our informant deeply touching and was moved to tears. I felt that Honen himself, together with Kuwabara, were there in the room with us. It was profound.

Apparently the statue was moved to this temple from Chion-in in the 14th century after the then head of Jodo-shu had a dream in which Honen appeared to him and instructed the removal in order that the statue be near to the mandala. I felt a deep connection with the young priest, Kawanaka, for his evident sincerity and kindness. I felt we understood each other even though he spoke even less English than I Japanese. It was an understanding of the heart.

When I look back upon the day, I still feel it has been highly significant and that it has changed me and my religious sensitivity in some important way. Rather as I had expected might be the case, the visit to the mandala itself in its glass case did not move me over much. The temple buildings were fine and it was good to see them and be connected with our sacred history. The real meaning of the day, however, had come out in two unanticipated encounters, conveyed by people of real faith and sensitivity. I met them and through them met the holy spirit of it all. A very special day.

20th April: Bukkyo Uni

At 2pm I gave a two hour lecture and seminar on Amida-shu to about 25 students, scholars, priests, therapists and other interestees attending the event arranged by Adachi sensei's research institute at Bukkyo University. Some old acquaintances attended. The event went quite well and it was apparent that we had enough material of interest to have kept us going for a week at least. Five of us went on to a restaurant afterwards and continued the discussions. I expect that I shall keep in touch with several of this group. It felt excellent to be amongst such company, each individual a specialist in one area or another of Buddhist practice and scholarship. I was made aware particularly of two different dimensions upon which religious distinctions might be made. One is the this-life / next-life emphasis distinction. The other is the in-the-mind / outside-the-mind distinction. On this basis, Jodo-shu is substantially next-life, outside-the-mind oriented whereas many contemporary Buddhists are this-life inside-the-mind oriented. Amida-shu maintains a balance on the first distinction, being for Pure Land here and hereafter, and leans toward the outside position on the second. All this led to interesting discussion. Adachi at one point said, "We are trying to work out whether there is really a distinction between Jodo-shu metaphysic and Amida-shu or not," and was still declaring himself unconcluded on the matter by the end of dinner. It felt like a meeting of friends - each a very distinct personality, each sincere in their faith, each having a different perspective. Most enjoyable.

19th April: Chion-in

Adachi sensei took me to attend a day of ceremonial at Chion-in, the number one Joso-shu temple in Japan. In April each year there is a sequence of memorial ceremonies to celebrate Honen Shonin. Honen died in January but January is a cold month so they hold the ceremonies in April - though we joked that, eith global warming, they will soon be moving them back again.

The ceremony involves two of the largest halls of the temple. We sat initially on the veranda of the larger hall waiting for the procession which would soon arrive from the other hall into which one is not admitted. However, one can hear the roll call going on in the second hall as each temple contingent is called to assemble into line. As there are representatives from temples all over Japan this takes some time.

There is a wide cloister walkway joining the two halls, open at the sides. It leaves the second temple at one end and the comes up like a ramp to join the large hall half way up one side. Where it joins the veranda of the main hall there are side platforms on which are seated a crowd of Japanese people, where they can get a prime view of the procession. These today are the members of the congregation of the temple of the priest who will be celebrant of todays event. There is a different celebrant, each from a different temple, each day, and we had a brochure with their portraits and details.

Eventually there was action. A procession of about eight or ten finely clad figures came up the walkway. Was this the beginning ... no... this was the musicians coming to take their places in the main hall. A group of young monks were gathered round the entrance to the hall and I asked what they were doing. I discovered that they are all students of Adachi sensei and that they were preparing a bed of incense. The incense smoke would rise and the procession would pass through it as it entered the hall, each person stepping over the incense burner. When the procession did arrive it was most splendid. The brocade robes and distinctive hats en mass made a wonderful display. There were, perhaps 200 priests. As soon as the procession had passed we made our way round the veranda, which completely encirles the hall, entered through one of the sliding panels and took our places amidst the congregation.

I am a keen student of liturgy and it was quite a spectacle. The mainstay of the ceremony was a recitation at high speed of the Larger Sutra, preceded and suceeded by items from the Jodo-shu liturgy, and finally followed by walking nembutsu done in call and response, serpentine around the complex architecture of the hall. Finally the celebrant advanced upon the congregation and administered junen.

When all was done the masses reassembled outside for photos, but we hurried on as I was required to complete some formalities at the university before the administrative staff ended their day. After that we went to dinner and as vegetarian food is not that common in Kyoto my host had done his research on the internet and we went to a rather nicve Indian restaurant. For once I was more familiar with local custom than he was. We had a pleasant meal together discussing the content of the days ceremonies and other mutual interests. The following day he gave me a photocopy of most of the liturgy with translation and promised to send me the part that was missing. It was quite gratifying to see that almost everything included was within the range of Amida-shu liturgy and to reflect that, were we as numerous, there was nothing in the ceremony that we could not have done in UK. We would, however, have needed a music master and a very good tailor!

18th April 2007: Arrival in Japan: Love in Amida's Pure Land

The journey was arduous for being 18 hours of travel with very little sleep, but it was also a pleasure to be in the hands of Cathay Pacific airline whose staff I found more naturally and genuinely attentive and concerned for one's well-being than any others I have encountered. I was met at Kansai Airport by Rev. Ryokyu Endo and taken to midnight chanting at Chion-in. I was interested to learn that he practises shiatsu and is the author of
• The New Shiatsu Method: Helping the body to heal itself, 2004, Tokyo, Kodansha.
He also has some independent ideas about religion - "Buddhism in Japan has already died, but I am looking for the rebirth" - and is involved with a group supporting tribal people from CHT. He was extremely helpful and I enjoyed being in his hands.

The night time chanting event is part of a series of events in memory of Honen Shonin. It is held in the room in the upper part of the main gate of Chion-in Temple. These temple gates are large and this particular one massive. The room is only opened on special occasions such as this. It has a painted ceiling with dragons and a large shrine area that takes up about half the floor space and is centred on a wonderful golden coloured sitting Amida rupa. Even so about 150 people gathered and were easily accommodated in the remaining floor space. Each participant has a mokujo and the rythmic chanting of "NA-mo-A-mi-DA-bu-NA-mo-A-mi-DA-bu..." goes on from 8pm through to 7am without a break. People kept arriving in small groups all the time I was there and others would depart after joining for one, two or more hours. Some stayed the whole course. I stayed from 8pm until 2am when Endo sensei took me back to my hotel before himself returning for the rest of the event.

I had a remarkable experience during the chanting. It is not easy to keep the rythm perfectly as one's arm tires and, this being so for others as well, the rythmn of the group tends to vary sometimes slowing, sometimes speeding up. It is, however, a fast pace and loud. I took my cue mostly from the monk at the front. I also tried to tune in to other people chanting near me, but it was not always possible even to make out clearly the voice of the person next to one. As we approached midnight the incessant sound of the mokujos and the chanting had become like white noise. I strained to try to catch the voices around me and could quite clearly hear them chanting "He taught us how to love and love is just enough" over and over. I knew that this could not be the case. Not only did I know that they must all be chanting "Namo Amida Bu", I also knew that most of them did not speak English. Nonetheless, I could clearly hear, over and over, "He taught us how to love and love is just enough". There was not a scap of a sense that I was creating this effect myself - simply that was what my ears were hearing. It went on like this for half an hour or so and I found myself gazing into the eyes of the Amida statue the face of which now seemed alive. There felt to be a real relationship. Meanwhile the sound of the chanting had broken down so that it just seemed that everyone was chanting "Love, love, love, love, ...." The word love was echoing all around the room. I looked around the darkened hall and saw all the people steadily beating their mokujo and chanting love. It was a beautiful experience, somehow not of this world. My eyes were drawn back to Amida. Another hour passed. My body was reaching an extreme of fatigue by this stage, having sustained a massive sleep loss and the wear and tear of long distance travel besides the challenge of the practice. I went and sat at the back of the hall for twenty minutes and then Endo sensei asked if I would like to go to my hotel, to which I assented. For several days after I would periodically find the refrain "I taught you how to love and love is just enough" going through my head.

Back at the hotel I went straight to sleep. I was woken by the telephone. Reception told me that a Mr Adachi was waiting for me. I looked at the clock - 12.30pm! time to go to the next event.

17th April 2007

Am writing this at Heathrow airport awaiting departure for Japan. There should be a good deal more to report over the next few days.

13th April: Having a Break

My weblogging activity has slowed over the past few days, reflecting the fact that I have had a few no computer days. Prasada and I have made a visit to the Forest of Dean and the Wye Valley. Then we visited her parents in Ilfracombe by the sea.

Iraq Refugee Tragedy

Nearly 4 million Iraqis have been displaced in and outside their country since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, making it the largest exodus of people in the Middle East since the creation of Israel in 1948. The United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, on Tuesday will convene a two-day conference in Geneva to address Iraq's deepening humanitarian crisis. Displacement continues at a rate of up to 50,000 people a month, according to UNHCR.

6th April: Co-operation

A good friend wrote to me...
Dear Dharma-jee, I am having a very rough time. Maybe it is just because of holy week in the Christian tradition. I'm feeling a little crucifing going on. I read your Everyday life blog and thought how lovely for you, what a priveledged life. I on the other hand will probably go to my grave as a wage slave, never owning a Buddhist house or otherwise. I have chosen to live on the edge as I completely disagree with my country's/culture's values. I have bet my life on another Pure Land. Perhaps I have just been very foolish trying to be in the world but not of it. I have a very strong longing for home which only seems to be getting worse. I know I should be content with finding Amida, but a little physical manifestation would be helpful. I have given my life to seeking an alternative path- I guess I haven't done a very good job. I am trying to listen to my heart and these feelings and see what they are really saying. I am trying not to whine. I am ashamed that I have these feelings, normally, I just try to work through them on my own but I am also trying to learn to ask for help. I know I am probably not grateful enough for all that I have at this moment and that my puny concerns do not hold a candle to the suffering of most people in this world. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for listening.

Here's what I feel about it...
I sympathise! I have been in that situation so many times. Once we had a small apartment and I took in a couple of kittens because they were going to be drowned otherwise, so we got chucked out of the flat and we had to find somewhere pretty quick. My then wife was pregnant at the time. There were no other flats available so we bought a very small river boat. The accommodation was about the size of the inside of a delivery van. We lived there with the cats for a few months. Eventually we did find an accommodation out in the country. It was very small but bigger than the boat. We could not sell the boat and it went for scrap together with our very meagre savings. I did not regret it because it saved the cats. Some of the other accommodations that I have lived in do not bear description. Much of that was driven by conscience considerations just like you describe. There must be others who are in the same situation. I do feel immensely lucky that we now have TBH to live in. The difference really lies in the fact that I am no longer alone.

Sangha is the key. When a group share together then it is often possible to create a decent lifestyle at the same time as being conscientious - though it is always fragile. If this could happen on a larger scale it could save the world. Prasada has now moved into my old room and made it look very nice. I have moved into a new office and it looks and functions very nicely. We have quite a good lifestyle, but, when one reflects upon it, the turnover of the whole Amida organisation with TBH, Sukhavati House in London, retreat centre in France, projects on several continents, several new initiatives in the pipeline, has now reached the giddy heights of £75,000. If we divided it up amongst ourselves we would each have a little over half the UK national minimum wage - not really be enough to live in a slum. Co-operation is what we need to make the sangha viable. It is a constant challenge. I don't know if you can do it where you live - I know that you have tried and we had several attempts to get it together before it happened. Why is this "privileged" lifestyle - and I agree that it is - not popping up everywhere? If one can live such a "privileged" life on half the minimum national wage, simply be co-operation, why isn't everybody doing it?

There are lots of people who talk enthusiastically about community but when it becomes a real possibility they can't actually make it work. Generally people want the benefits but not the costs so it falls apart. So, yes, you are right, we are extremely privileged to have found some people who are actually enjoying living the Dharma life together. A little core group is what it takes, united in a faith strong enough to override the personal niggles that people have about their own space, their own things, their own habits, their own convenience and so on. We are not wage slaves, but then we have no wages! We are communal and unfortunately modern people are not brought up to it so although it is a privilege open to all willing to participate fully, the majority of people who try to live here do not stay. What a shame!

We have just had our Easter Retreat. We have had gatherings, sharing our hopes and expectations. We have done much chanting together. We have studied together, eaten together and worked together. There has been a palpable sense of going through an important process together. A friend of ours who has spent several years in Africa working in a monkey sanctuary has been with us and it has been good to see her again and other friends have come from different parts of UK. It has been super having representatibves of different bits of the Amida universe meet. The weather has been good so we have spent a fair bit of time in the gardens. Working together we were able to completely transform two areas of ground. We have removed the hedge that separated the front garden of number four from number six. It is amazing what can be done by a team working together. This is surely the big challenge for the world. As we run out of space in which to get away from each other, can we learn to get on and co-operate? I have hopes, but I do not know what will happen on the big scale, I just know that we can try to do our bit here.

2nd April 2007: Days in the life of

These past few days I have
• continued the preparation of Prasada's new office while she has been away visiting Amida ministers and chaplains in the north;
• looked after Gareth who has been sick;
• done a little more work on my paper on spiritual care of the dying which I shall present in Japan later this month;
• read the latest issue of De Numine, the magasine of the Alister Hardy Society, thus learning about Islamic dream interpretation, recent research on near-death experiences, the mythology of bees, and other related topics;
• done quite a bit of thinking about the way that Amida Trust might evolve over the next year or two and started to draft some ideas to share with others about it;
• done some sorting out in The Buddhist House attic and, with Nora's help, had a bonfire;
• issued a Pastoral Letter
• made Leo laugh
• skimmed some works on or by Sant Mat;
• taken the Sunday service and morning services, including that for the first of the month when we do Vajrasattva practice;
• had a number of conversations about the life of Gyomay Kubose;
• had discussion with and about the position of our team in France where Sr. Modgala is recovering from quite serious illness, and decided that Sr. Susthama should go out to France to deal wih the situation of the car that is at its year end and so needs to be brought back to UK for its MOT test;
• spent a day with one of my oldest friends in which we went out together to Rutland Water, enjoyed watching the yachts, went for a stiff walk in a strong wind and bright sunshine, walked the Wing maze, discussed spirituality, Jung, rebirth, human relations, writing, books, conferences, death, future plans, and ate ice-cream. It is a relationship that gives me great satisfaction even though we only see each other once in a blue moon;
• continued the gradual (possibly unending) task of getting my office organized - I am very pleased with my shelves that are gradually filling up and enable me to have all my long hoarded collection of papers on hand;
• sorted out sopme pots and pans and put them in the cupboard at number four;
• fed Ian's fish;
• got my laptop backed up;
• eaten Sudhana's wonderful cooking - as well as some by Susthama, Gareth, and by Gareth's parents;
• seen susthama off
• given the latest talk in the Commentary on the Pratyutpanna Samadhi Sutra series. Prasada arrived back from her tour of the north as we were finishing
• said nembutsu throughout

....and quite a few other things. It feels like a fairly ordinary few days in one sense, though no two times are ever the same. Making this short review I notice that I am the sort of person who takes much pleasure in little tings. I greatly enjoy having shelves in my office and having a bonfire and having a cup of tea in the morning.