Great
atmosphere! The exterior of the building looked very much like a hybrid of
western and traditional Japanese accents. There were Japanese style lanterns on
posts along the walkway leading up to the main entrance. When we went inside it
appeared as though this temple was fashioned from an old church. The floors
were carpeted as opposed to the traditional tatami and wooden floors that I
observed in temples in Japan. The inside of the building was very modest, that
is, until we entered the area of worship. Inside what looked like it used to be
a Chrisitan chapel, there were many authentic symbols and décor. The Butsudans
(alters) were very ornate and traditional. Adorned with candles, incense, and
scrolls with images depicting the important historical figures of this sect of
Buddhism, they were well-maintained and positioned on an elevated platform in
the front of the hall. In the front of the stage, there was a bronze urn used
to burn incense. There are two dragons, the one on the left has its mouth open,
and the one on the right has a closed mouth, representing life and death
respectively. They are on the outside representing that they are out of our
control, we are born and we die it can’t be avoided, the only thing we are in
control over is the here and now and how we respond to what happens to us which
is represented by the body of the urn located in the center and the smoke from
the burning incense. The smoke is very irregular, tossing, turning, swaying and
dissipating much like the course of our own life, its flow isn’t always smooth
and it is often unpredictable and will eventually fizzle out like the incense
at the bottom of the urn. It is best to make the most out of the time we have
here and not dwell on death, as it will come for all of us.
The way I see it,
it is as though the dragon on the left is calling out to us, it opens its mouth
and beckons us, it breathes, it lives. The other is silent and comes for us
often unexpectedly, not at a moment of our own choosing. This is of course how
I think of it when I see them, what they say to me anyway. I love the smoke
analogy as well, very deep and moving. The topic today was about life and death
and there was a pet memorial today so there were also photos of pets placed
upon the altar in addition to the usual items. (more on this in the service
section)
The interior of the building was very western but still I
could feel that it was a Buddhist gathering. The area where the meeting was
held looked like it was at one time a Christian hall of worship because the
pews and the piano are a very western thing not normally seen in temples in
Japan (at least the ones I visited).
SERVICE: 10/10
We visited on what was called Nirvana day, the day Shakyamuni
Buddha achieved Nirvana. The service was short and sweet. It had a pet memorial
(ごぶんしょ Gobunsho) as well as a brief
memorial for members who had lost someone in the month of February. The service
began with reading the names of the deceased family members and the family
walked up to the alter to burn incense and pay respects. We continued with a
short song, followed by about 5 minutes of reading of the golden chain in a
chant like fashion, all in Japanese of course which was really interesting.
Then the speaker told a story of a boy and his horse and how
pets are usually the first encounter children have with death. The story was of
a boy in Mongolia named Suho and it went something like this:
One day while his grandmother was working in the garden, she noticed it was late and her grandson had not yet returned from the fields. Late in the day as the sun was about to set, she saw a figure coming toward her, it was her grandson Suho carrying something on his back, a beautiful pure white colt. It’s mother had been killed by wolves and it was malnourished and weak.Overtime Suho had nursed the young colt back to health and soon it grew to become a very fine and wonderful horse. The two had become best friends and worked together for several years. Pretty soon his was considered the greatest horse in the village, being a competent horseman himself, the two were able to out ride anyone to challenge them to a race.The governor of this state had a beautiful daughter to wed off and to find a suitable husband for her, organized a race to determine who would be worthy of her hand and issued a challenge to all members of the state that whosoever should win a race would be eligible to marry her. Other men in the village suggested that to Suho that he should enter the race, that he and his white stallion were the fastest in all the land and surely he would be victorious. He was reluctant however, being but a humble peasant that he would not be worthy to compete. After some convincing from the villagers he agreed to race.Suho and his horse did of course win the race and when the governor called upon Suho to approach him he said “You are a fine rider and your horse is magnificent. You are not good enough for my daughter nor deserving of such a horse.” The governor then, instead of keeping his word in wedding his daughter to the victor, threw Suho a few measly coins and took his cherished friend and send him back to the village alone, losing the thing he loved most.The governor took the horse for himself and hired his most experienced horsemen to work with it so that he may ride it. The horse was unworkable and difficult. It fought and bucked and no man was able to ride it. After weeks of work the trainers judged that it was now broken enough to allow the governor to mount it as his own. When the governor sat up in the saddle, the great white horse immediately bucked the man off and into the mud. “If I cannot have this horse then no one can!” He instructed his archers to execute the defiant stallion which then darted of and broke loose. The air was filled with arrows and the horses body then became dotted with many that reached their mark. The horse escaped the trainers and the governor and made it to the open fields where Suho had found it many years before and kept running until it reached the village.Suho was out working and still mourning for the loss of his friend when familiar figure moved into sight. His once beautiful and snow white companion was now completely red. Drenched in blood and specked with arrows. The horse made it back to Suho and his grandmother, who did everything they could to save him, but by sundown, he was gone. There was nothing more that could be done. The wicked lord slew the boy's prized white horse.Late that night, as Suho uncomfortably slept, the horse's spirit came to Suho in a dream saying “don’t mourn for me, it is alright. We will all die one day.” and instructed him to make an instrument from the horse's body, so the two could still be together and neither would be lonely. So the first morin khuur (horse head fiddle) was assembled, with horse bones as its neck, horsehair strings, horse skin covering its wooden sound box, and its scroll carved into the shape of a horse head.
This story definitely left me with some feels. It is hard to
let go of the ones you love but there is nothing you can do to stop it. Death
is a natural and inevitable part of life and that is what the story was about,
and from death you can make something beautiful, in this case it was the
horse-headed fiddle. Suho played songs to cherish the memory of his fallen
companion. One such song is called “Ten Thousand Galloping horses”
After the touching story, there was a closing song and then
there was a luncheon in a back room where there were numerous traditional
Japanese treats as well as a few western-style fare.
MESSAGE: 10/10
There are some things in life we can’t do anything about,
death is one of them. You can take a hardship and make something out of it;
death is just a part of life. Suho, took the death of his best friend and made
something beautiful from it.
COMMUNITY: 9/10
The people here were very nice. We got to meet with several
of the people during the luncheon and talk about the service and the blog.
Everyone was willing to answer questions and even brought up the religion class
that they hold Sunday mornings to teach more about topics in Buddhism. One of
the ladies even saw how much Chad and I were enjoying one of the Japanese teas
and even gave us each a box of it. It happened to be one of my personal
favorites, Genmaicha. It is a Japanese Green Tea made with toasted rice and it
smells like popcorn! If you haven’t tried it yet you are missing out!
OVERALL: 9/10
This is a group I can see myself visiting again and again.
Short and sweet service, rich culture, beautiful décor, and a very welcoming
community. I strongly recommend Jodo Shinshu Buddhist Temple if you want to
experience a bit of Japanese culture and learn about the Shinran sect of
Buddhism. To know more about Shinran check out this link.
My next adventure will take me back to the faith of my
childhood, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormon Church)!
Until next time!
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