Feb 14th, 2012 - A trip from Kyoto to Ekoin, Koyasan.
The day's events were relatively straight forward. First our group attended 6am service at Nishi Hongwanji and then waited for Mr. Nomura's "Kamisori" ceremony to take place (in the ceremony he was bestowed his Buddhist name or "Homyo"). After that we made our way to Koyasan, our destination for the night's accommodation. That involved a train ride to Shin Osaka, a subway ride to Namba, a wait for the train to Gokurakubashi station, a cable car ride up to Koyasan and finally a bus ride to Ekoin, the Buddhist seminary where we spent the night.
It was a taxing trip and we arrived late in the afternoon. So there was little opportunity to do any site seeing. I took a short walk into the centre of the village and bought some local confections (some of course intended as "omiyage"). I cut that walk short in order to be back in time for a meditation session.
The mediation session was a good experience. I managed to get away without having to latch my feet into the semi-lotus position we were instructed to assume. I could get my (right?) foot latched onto the inside of my left knee but I don't have the flexibility to get my right knee within six inches of the tatami floor. So I opted for a cross legged position. If I were to give a quick assessment I'd hazard to say that the Shingon approach to meditation is not as strident as the one many Westerners envision. There is no master walking behind you to administer a crack on your shoulder with a rod. Or so I recall the monk who led us through our session telling us. The interesting point of practice we were taught was to focus our sight on a point about a meter ahead of us. That facilitated the half open gaze which is depicted in Buddhist art and statues. Of course it also leads one to the danger of falling asleep.
There had been talk of a night time tour up to OkunoIn but the weather conditions, steady rain with a bit of wind, prevented that from taking place. So we settled down for a quiet night after enjoying a vegetarian meal.
This was my second visit to Koyasan and my first night's stay there. It was a much more relaxed affair than my previous visit which was a four hour whirlwind tour consisting of a walk from Ichi-no-Hashi to Okunoin, and visits to Danjo-Garan, Konpo Daito and Kongobuji. Somehow I managed to squeeze a late lunch and time to eat an "ishi-yaki imo" into that. While I did less this day it's not to say I got less out of the experience. Of course, there was the next day's service to come...
Enjoy your pop rocks, sir.
15 years ago
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