The deep end

When I first came to Japan I was basically thrown in the deep end - I had no Japanese language, no knowledge of anything Japanese other than Japanese cars and had never even tried eating Japanese food - let alone tried to cook it.  I remember how hard, but also how rewarding the whole experience was.

With this in mind when groups from New Zealand come to stay we have devised a way of throwing them completely in the deep end on their arrival in Japan.  

Number one - take them into the most remote mountains you can find.  

Number two - drop them off at the bottom of a very large number of very large steps and tell them you'll meet them at the top with their bags.

Number three - show them to their accommodation - a remote temple where they will be sleeping on futons on the floor listening to the wind whistle through the gaps in the wall and rain pound down.

Number four - feed them traditional monks food - seated on the floor with chopsticks.  It's always fun to see how they handle the noodles on the first day in!

Number five - wake them up at 6am and head even further up the hill to an even more remote part of the temple for a seated meditation session and a fire ritual - where you hope the flames licking the roof of the very old, very wooden temple will not set it on fire..

Number six - finish it all off with a breakfast of watery rice and pickles - not forgetting to keep one pickle to use to clean your bowls at the end!

Actually it is a really great experience.  The temple we stay in is called Monjusenji and the priests there are great - always answering all our strange questions and accommodating our strange ways.  If anyone wants to see the Japanese homepage this is the link: Monjusenji

Hopefully an English version will be available soon....

Every time I stay there I learn a little more about the family there.  This time I really enjoyed talking with the younger priest who was a real estate salesman in Tokyo before returning to work at the temple.  When one of the participants asked him how he spent his days at the temple he replied... First I check my e-mail.  Next I check my facebook.  Then I update my blog.  Next I send e-mails to people to try and drum up business - he said his training in real estate sales comes in very handy!  Not exactly the image that most people have of priests in remote temples, but probably a very common reality!  His stories of how they survived their 2 month retreats in the mountains when they were training to become priests were also pretty eye-opening.... but as he said very illegal now!