Simple Stone Lantern

This simple yet beautiful stone lantern is at a Buddhist temple in Otawara Tochigi prefecture. 

Meditating Daibutsu

Koyasan Buddhist Temple Los Angeles

Simple Stone Lantern

I love this stone lantern because of how simple and plain it is. This is in the front of a small neighborhood temple in Otawara Tochigi-ken.

Daibutsu Crowds

The last time I visited the Giant Buddha (Daibutsu) in Kamakura, there were ten thousand school kids there that day which I think is actually pretty common. It was still very fun and I hope to return someday.

Green Buddha and Faceless Buddha

I love how many old Buddhist statues in Japan become weathered or moss covered. It really adds to the character of the old statues.  Below are two statues, possibly Jizo Bodhisattva's, from a temple in Otawara, Tochigi-ken. My favorite is the moss covered green Jizo.

This is my entry in this weeks Show Me Japan. Please click on the photo below to see more great Japan photos at Budget Trouble.

Stoned Buddha

I love to walk around little neighborhood temples and there are several very near where I stay when visiting Otawara in Tochigi. One of the things I love about them are all the old statues around the temple grounds. Below are photos from the attached cemetery. I was very curious when I saw all the stones covering the statues. I believe these are Jizo statues because of the bibs they are wearing but I am not certain. If they are then technically they are not Buddha's but are bodhisattva's. If anyone knows the reason for the stones, let me know.

I love the stone on this little one's head.

This is my entry in this weeks Show Me Japan. Please click on the photo below to see more great Japan photos at Budget Trouble.

Here is a very interesting article from the Japan Times about Daisetz Suzuki, a Zen Buddhist teacher, who died 55 years ago. D.T. Suzuki is one of the great Zen teachers in modern Japanese history.

Zen psychology: Daisetz Suzuki remembered

More than any other Eastern thinker in the 20th century, Suzuki catalyzed the rise of humanistic psychology, which has spurred today's interest in spirituality and well-being

By EDWARD HOFFMAN

Special to The Japan Times

Despite the gloomy global economy, the field of positive psychology is booming. Often described simplistically by journalists as "the science of happiness," it's actually a broad focus on our strengths and talents, virtues and peak experiences in daily living. The name for this specialty originated with Martin Seligman at the University of Pennsylvania a dozen years ago. With amazing speed, it has spawned courses at hundreds of colleges, best-selling books, websites and workshops on topics like mindfulness, and wide-ranging research on the links between mood and wellness.

Zen sage: The works of Daisetz Suzuki have inspired many in the West to study and learn from Eastern philosophy and Zen Buddhism. AP PHOTO

Yet, amid this flurry of excitement, it's shameful that so little credit is given to a key figure who helped shift the focus away from Sigmund Freud's gloomy fixations to a more optimistic view of human nature: Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki. More than any other Eastern thinker in the 20th century, he catalyzed the rise of humanistic psychology in the post-World War II era — and, indirectly, today's mounting interest in spirituality and inner well-being. As 2011 marks the 55th anniversary of Suzuki's death, the time is right to remember the remarkable man born in what's now Kanazawa, western Japan.

Suzuki was descended from a long line of physicians of the samurai class. He was expected to follow in their path, but when he was only 6, his father died and this goal became financially impossible. Academically gifted, he taught English in several small towns before initiating higher education at Tokyo Senmon Gakko (the predecessor of Waseda University) and the nonregular course at the Imperial University in Tokyo. But by his early 20s, Suzuki felt drawn to spiritual matters, and became a novitiate at the Engakuji Rinzai Zen monastery in Kamakura.

What was his motivation? As Suzuki later reminisced, "My thoughts (had) started to turn to philosophy and religion, and as my family belonged to the Rinzai sect of Zen, it was natural that I should look to Zen for some of the answers to my problems (about losing my father and our family's resulting poverty)."

At Engakuji, Suzuki's mentor, the aged Roshi (Zen master) Imagita Kosen, bestowed the Buddhist name Daisetz, meaning "great humility" on his pupil. Suzuki spent long hours in zazen (sitting meditation) and immersed himself in classic Zen texts. He was especially inspired by the "Zenkan Sakushin" (Whips to Drive You Through the Zen Barrier), an anthology of writings on Zen discipline and advice compiled by a Chinese master of the Ming dynasty. Decades later, Suzuki would vividly describe these formative years in his spiritual memoir, "The Training of A Buddhist Monk."

As he later reminisced, "In the way of moral effort, I used to spend many nights in a cave at the back of the Shariden building where the Buddha's tooth was enshrined. But there was always a weakness of willpower in me, so that I often failed to sit up all night in the cave, finding some excuse to leave, such as the mosquitoes."

Suzuki may have been exceptionally modest by temperament, but he was a brilliant linguist. Recognizing this talent was Roshi Kosen's cosmopolitan successor — Shaku Soyen, who arranged for young Suzuki to work near Chicago as a professional translator of Eastern texts for the Open Court publishing firm. There for 12 years, Suzuki enthusiastically introduced Americans to classic Chinese, Japanese, Pali and Sanskrit writings — starting with Taoism's seminal text, the "Tao Te Ching." In 1907, Suzuki authored his first book, "Outlines of Mahayana Buddhism," and thus began his subsequent, nearly 60-year career as a teacher and interpreter of Zen Buddhism to the West. During his stay in the U.S., he traveled widely including a visit to Europe — expanding his translation work and connecting with Theosophists and others interested in mystical teachings for the modern world.

Training ground: Daisetz Suzuki studied Zen at Engakuji monastery in Kamakura. YOSHIAKI MIURA PHOTOS

Late in his life, Suzuki insisted that he had never planned to spend so much time residing in the U.S., but "one year grew into the next and I wound up staying in America for more than a decade. After that, I traveled around Europe for a year before returning to Japan."

During this period, Suzuki also found time for romance. In 1911, he married Beatrice Erskine Lane, an American social worker eight years his junior drawn to Zen and Theosophy. By then, he was back in Japan as an English lecturer at the Imperial University, and they wedded in Yokohama. The two would adopt a son and collaborate on many literary projects until her death in 1939, for Lane was an accomplished scholar in her own right — whose lucid book on Mahayana Buddhism still remains in print after more than 70 years. Sharing her husband's interest in psychology, she devoted an entire chapter in this work to the Buddhist concept of personality — and poetically declared that "The only definite teaching to be found in Zen is that . . . every man is a sleeping Buddha. Consequently, (one) has but to awaken his heart of wisdom by meditation to gain a direct insight into the nature of reality."

The 1920s and 1930s marked Suzuki's most productive years. Joining the faculty of Otani University in Kyoto, he taught both English and Buddhist philosophy, and received an honorary doctorate in literature. During this period, his major books included "An Introduction to Zen Buddhism," "Essays in Zen Buddhism," "The Training of the Zen Buddhist Monk," his translation of the ancient Sanskrit Lankavatara Sutra, and especially "Zen and Its Influence on Japanese Culture."

These works came to influence several major psychological thinkers of the 20th century including Carl Jung, Erich Fromm and Karen Horney. For example, Jung was fascinated by Suzuki's description of the Zen experience of satori(enlightenment) and argued that it showed that we have higher stages of consciousness beyond the ego. For Fromm and Horney, Suzuki's work pointed the way to an exciting new understanding of personality growth and psychotherapy based on the notion of a "real self" that can be nurtured through authenticity and "whole-heartedness."

Fromm admired Suzuki's Zen teaching that we grow spiritually in life not by mere words and intellect, but by involving our entire being. At the time, of course, Freudianism was the dominant approach in Europe and the U.S., and had nothing to say about such matters.

During the interwar years, Suzuki's writings also helped modern Japanese to appreciate the impact of Zen thought on their own culture. For instance, in his preface to "The Training of the Zen Buddhist Monk," Suzuki asserted that "It is impossible, as I maintain, in the study of the Orient, especially in the study of Japanese character and culture, to neglect — much less to ignore — the influence of Zen. "In Zen and Its Influence on Japanese Culture," Suzuki described Zen's impact on four different, long-standing traditions in his country: painting, literature, swordsmanship and the tea ceremony. Each of these domains is worth noting, though space constraint here necessarily make these brief.

A temple room within Engakuji monastery where Suzuki is believed to have meditated.

Artistically, the Sumiye is a kind of sketch in black and white, involving ink composed of soot and glue, a brush of sheep's or badger's hair, and thin paper designed to absorb much ink. As Suzuki noted, such frail material was intentionally chosen to make sure that the artist's inspiration was transferred onto it in the quickest possible time — allowing for no erasing, retouching or remodeling. In this way, observed Suzuki, "Sumiye attempts to catch spirit as it moves" — thereby embodying the Zen principle that in life, "Everything becomes, nothing is stationery."

As for literature, the haiku is a special product of Japanese genius, according to Suzuki, developed in its highest form by the 17th-century Zen devotee Basho. How so? Because he freed haiku from mere wordplay and connected it to the experience of ultimate truth with such poems as "A frog jumps into the water. Hear the sound!"

As for swordsmanship, Suzuki contended that in feudal times, Japanese warriors were taught by Zen masters not to learn scholarly doctrines, but to develop a specific mental attitude: fearlessness before their possible death in battle. The 16th-century Zen master Takuan also taught his disciple Yagyu Tajima no Kami (swordsmanship teacher to the shogun of his day): "What is most important in the art of swordplay is to acquire . . . 'immovable wisdom.' 'Immovable' does not mean to be stiff and heavy . . . It means the highest degree of motility with a center which remains immovable . . . You must leave your mind free to make its own countermovement without your interfering deliberation."

Finally, Suzuki contended that the Japanese tea ceremony, so integral and favored part of its culture — and similar to other long-standing artistic activities as flower arranging — embodies the spirit of sabi by emphasizing such elements as simplicity, naturalness, refinement and "familiarity singularly tinged with aloofness and everyday commonness veiled exquisitely with the mist of transcendental inwardness."

Such insights by Suzuki helped to awaken broad Japanese interest in Zen Buddhism, especially as his reputation grew in the West.

When World War II erupted, Suzuki was under the suspicion of the Japanese government for his opposition to militarism. In his numerous wartime essays on Zen, he kept quiet about political matters, but in private letters as well as public speeches, he made clear his antiwar stance. For example, the day after Pearl Harbor was bombed, the 71-year-old Suzuki plunged Otani University's faculty meeting into uproar when he contended, "With this, Japan will be destroyed. What will destroy it is Shinto and the militarists."

Such shocking words, of course, proved prophetic — and in 1949, he was made a member of the Japan Academy and decorated by the emperor with the Order of Culture.

The postwar era marked the heyday of American Freudianism and its humanistic offshoots — and Suzuki, teaching Zen Buddhism at Columbia University in the 1950s, was at the epicenter of creative psychological thought. Only months before Horney's death in 1952, she accompanied Suzuki and colleagues on a tour of Japanese Zen monasteries and emphasized the importance of his notion of "whole-heartedness" as a vital feature of mental health. Fromm became close friends with Suzuki, and in 1957, sponsored him as a guest speaker for a conference on Zen and psychoanalysis held in Cuernavaca, Mexico. Several years later, the two coauthored an influential book on this topic; like many others, Fromm was greatly touched by Suzuki's personal warmth and kindness.

Abraham Maslow, guru of motivational psychology, was another humanistic thinker inspired by Suzuki during these years. Maslow, who pioneered in studying what he called "peak experiences" — that is, sudden moments of joy and meaning — was excited by Suzuki's concept of sono-mama or suchness, as an element of mystical awareness. Sponsoring Suzuki's lectures at Brandeis University, Maslow also regarded Suzuki's Zen teaching of muga, or total absorption, as vital for a psychology of well-being and growth.

It is an historical irony, though, that Suzuki had much less impact on Japanese psychology than on its humanistic development in the U.S. and Europe. Why so? Because during the postwar years, Japanese psychologists were eager to establish their field as a rigorous experimentalist science, akin to biology, and looked askance at philosophical or spiritual thinkers. As the Jungian scholar Dr. Shoji Muramoto of Kobe City University of Foreign Studies comments, "Unlike in the West, Suzuki's relevance to modern psychology has hardly been appreciated in Japan outside of a few journal articles. Nevertheless, he was perhaps the first Zen philosopher to deal with Zen as an object of academic study in its philosophical basis and psychological aspects, as well as its history."

After retiring from Columbia University in 1957, the elderly Suzuki returned to Japan, where he kept up an active, international schedule of writing, attending conferences, lecturing and receiving awards for his lifetime achievements.

Until his death in 1966 at age 95, he influenced a new generation interested in the relevance of Eastern thought — particularly Zen Buddhism — for contemporary civilization. For instance, his writings on Zen meditation later contributed to mindfulness training for health care professionals as a valued therapeutic tool — and now sponsored by dozens of medical schools in the U.S. and elsewhere.

As Suzuki astutely saw, the world was hungry for Eastern spiritual wisdom. His final words? "Don't worry. Thank you! Thank you!"

Jizo Bodhisattva: Guardian of Children, Travelers & Souls in Hell

The book, Jizo Bodhisattva - Guardian of Children, Travelers & Other Voyagers, written by American Zen teacher Jan Chozen Bays, provides an informative overview of the history of Jizo Bodhisattva or Ojizo-sama. For those who are familiar with or live in Japan, you probably have heard of Jizo Bodhisattva and you probably have seen many Jizo statues. It is a common sight in Japan.




I also had heard of Jizo but I did not know too much about what Jizo was or signifies. This book provided a good overview from a Zen Buddhist's perspective. The book also provided good information about some of the basic beliefs of Buddhism such as rebirth and the various hell realms.

Here are some of the interesting things I learned from this book.

A Bodhisattva is an enlightened being who vows not to enter nirvana, but instead works to free all others who suffer. Jizo's two most important vows are: "Only after the Hells are empty will I become a Buddha" and "Only after all beings are taken across to Enlightenment will I myself realize Bodhi."




Jizo is known to be the protector of children and travelers. You sometimes will see Jizo statues along roads or highways. At temples or cemetaries, a Jizo statue may be seen holding a child.

Statues of six Jizo's are often found at the entrance to cemeteries or temples. The six Jizo's represent the division of Jizo into six bodies, one to help suffering beings in each of the six realms. The six realms are the Hells, Hungry Ghosts, the Animal Realm, Human Realm, the Realm of the Asuras, and the Realm of the Gods.

There are actually many forms of Jizo. Below are some of them:

Emmei or Enmei Jizo - Jizo who prolongs life and provides benefits including watching over children and curing illness
Hara Obi Jizo - Stomach-wrapper Jizo who protects women during pregnancy
Hikeshi Jizo - Protects houses and harvests from fire
Indo Jizo - Saves humans after death and leads them to enlightenment
Meyame Jizo - Restores eyesight
Taue Jizo - Helps farmers plant rice
Mizuko Jizo - Water-Baby Jizo

There are many other Jizo's besides these above.

The popular Mizuko Jizo or Water-Baby Jizo is often portrayed as a monk with an infant in his arms and another child or two at his feet. In Japan, a ceremony called a Mizuko Kuyo is performed for grieving parents who have lost an infant either before birth or within the first few years of life. The Mizuko Jizo is a more recent creation. This Jizo and the Mizuko Kuyo ceremony arose in Japan in the 1960's.

The Jizo that is the special protector of Children arose during the medieval times in Japan. According to Japanese Buddhist beliefs, young children who have died are innocent souls who are unable to understand the teachings of the Buddha or to separate right from wrong. This also means that, through no fault of their own, they cannot become enlightened. They are stuck in a kind of limbo. Jizo protects the children in this limbo realm from demons.

Jizo statues often carry a pilgrim's staff. At the top are rings, usually four or six. Four for the Four Noble Truths of Buddhism or six for the six realms of existence such as the Hell or Human realms.

In the other hand of most Jizo statues is a cintamani jewel. The cintamani is the jewel that fullfills all wishes. The jewel is supposed to emit a warm brilliant light which illuminates the deepest reaches of the hells.

There were many other interesting facts I learned about the Jizo from this book. If you are curious about the many Jizo's located around Japan, I would recommend this book.

Miniature Daibutsu in HDR

This is a photo of a miniature Daibutsu using the HDR feature of my Android phone. This Daibutsu statue is only 4cm tall. I like how the HDR photo appears to give Daibutsu a glowing halo.

Jolly stone Buddha

This is another one of the Buddhas in my home. The jolly Buddha is based on a Chinese Ch'an (Zen) monk named Hotei who lived over 1,000 years ago. Because of this monk's benevolent nature, he became known as an incarnation of the bodhisattva who will become Maitreya (the Future Buddha). His large protruding stomach and jolly smile have given him the common designation "Laughing Buddha."

Jolly wood Buddha

A small neighborhood temple

Below are some photos I took of a small Buddhist temple in a quiet neighborhood in Otawara, Tochigi-ken during my recent visit to Japan. I thought this temple was somewhat unique because of there were many small statues throughout the garden in front of the temple that I had not seen in some of the other temples I've visited.

I'm not sure who this person is. If anyone has an idea, please let me know.

Although I am familiar with Buddhism, the figures in the statues below are not familiar to me. Anyone know who this deity is? I assume it is a Buddhist deity such as a Bodhisattva and it appears to be female but I am not certain.

Either this is a three headed deity or three separate deities or figures standing close together.

I would have taken more photos at this temple but I had my two boys with me and it was almost dinner time. I will try and take more photos here during my next visit probably in August.

Here is the exact location of the temple on the map below (36.863202, 140.02458). If you zoom in, you can see the name of the temple. If someone can tell me the name of the temple, that would be great.

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Miniature Daibutsu

Kamakura June 2010

I just returned from Japan today and I am dead tired but I had a great time. One of the highlights was a day in Kamakura last Thursday. We lucked out because the weather was ecellent. We visited Enoshima, Daibutsu, andTsurugaoka Hachiman-gu. Below are some of the photos I took. I apologize for the quality of the photos. I am not a very good photographer but also it's not too easy taking photos when you are holding or chasing after a 2 year old.

Daibutsu was as amazing as I thought it would be. The meditative Daibutsu is a very moving figure and I could feel that when I stood at the base of the giant Buddha. One slight downside of the Daibutsu was that the area was swarming with literally thousands of school kids. THOUSANDS. It made it difficult to walk along the side walk, purchase train tickets, or enter the train while carrying a two year old.

Below are a couple of photos from Hachiman-gu. I will post some more later but I wanted to post these two because of the new growths coming from the old stump from the famous gingko tree that fell earlier this year. See my March post of the story behind the famous tree and the sad demise of the old tree. But the good news is that new growths are sprouting from the old trunk as you can see below so there is hope that one day the tree will resurrect itself.

I will post some photos of Enoshima later.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Photo: taleofgenji.org

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE.

Zenshuji Temple, Los Angeles

This is a statue of Kannon Bodhisattva outside the Zenshuhi Zen temple in downtown Los Angeles. Once a week I visit Kannon here at Zenshuji.

Kannon is the Buddhist bodhisattva of compassion or goddess of mercy. Kannon is often pictured next to Amida Buddha. In the crown on Kannon can be seen an image of Amida Buddha who was Kannon's spiritual teacher before Kannon became a Bodhisattva. Amida Buddha is the principal Buddha of the Pure Land sect

Above are six Jizo statues outside Zenshuji. Jizo is also a Bodisattva and the name is translated as "Earth Treasury", "Earth Store", or "Earth Womb". Jizo is known for his vow not to achieve Buddhahood until all the various hells are emptied. In Japan, Jizo is one of the most beloved of deities and you will see Jizo statues all over Japan. Jizo is considered the guardian of children and travelers but there are actually dozens of other various Jizo's who provide protection for many different people. Since Jizo is the savior of souls, you will often find him in cemeteries in Japan. Also, since he provides protection to travelers, Jizo is a common site along the roadsides of Japan.

A large lantern outside Zenshuji temple.

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Gojoe: Spirit War Chronicle

Benkei, a master fighter and killer, vows never to take another life after his conversion to Buddhism. His faith in pacifism, however, is shaken and ultimately broken when members of a warrior clan are being mysteriously beheaded at Gojoe Bridge. With his "Demon Slayer" sword the former Buddhist monk and his grave robbing sidekick set out to unmask and destroy the powerful evil forces that lurk at Gojoe bridge. Set in the 12th Century, this action packed epic features some of the most extraordinary fight sequences ever filmed, and heralds the return of the Samurai Film to Japanese Cinema.

This movie is based on Japanese historical legends and ancient clan rivalries and therefore many Westerners not familiar with them may not fully appreciate this film. It revolves around the great rivalry between the Taira and the Minamoto clans. The movie is directly based on the famous battle on the Gojoe Bridge in the 12th century between Musashibo Benkei and Minamoto Yoshitsune.

There are many impressive sword fighting scenes as well as maybe the most beheadings of any film I have watched. But these beheadings were not filmed gruesomely like some generic chanbara flick. What you actually see are a series of blood geysers erupting from beyond the bushes as the so-called "demon" attacks the samurai warriors. It is these lightning attacks which is what causes the samurai to try and figure out who or what is attacking them. Whoever is attacking the samurai are so fast as to be unseen so it is believed they are being attacked by demons. But are they? Benkei the monk feels it is his destiny to slay the "demon" and that once he does, he will achieve enlightenment. This will lead to his final battle. The main character, Benkei (Daisuke Ryu), was impressive with his calm and religious demeanor that hides his violent past. This movie has a lot a Buddhist and religious symbolism, good and evil, etc. The final battle between Benkei and the "demon" is long, intense and impressive but maybe not the "most extraordinary" of fight sequences as described by the film's producers. The movie uses very good imagery and is filmed in beautiful natural settings along with many fast action fight scenes and it is based on famous legends and stories from Japanese history which means this movie gets two thumbs up from me.

Shugyo Daishi

In Little Tokyo in downtown Los Angeles there is a Shingon Buddhist temple on First Street called the Koyasan Buddhist Temple. Recently a statue was installed in front of the temple which is apparently in commemoration of the temples's 100th anniversary. The base of the statue says Shugyo Daishi.

I was curious if this was an alternative name for the founder of Shingon Buddhism in Japan, Kobo Daishi or Kukai. But my Google searches did not clearly tell me who Shugyo Daishi was. With the help of several people from the Samurai Archives, I learned that it appears the term Shugyo refers to some sort of pilgrimage or person who is on a path towards knowledge or enlightenment. It also appears that the Shugyo Daishi statue in front of the temple is Kobo Daishi while he was on a pilgrimage according to this website. If anybody out there has more knowledge regarding Shugyo or Shugyo Daishi, please share.

Below is what someone from the Samurai Archives provided. Very interesting.


北米開教　百年記念

hokubei kaikyô hyakunen kinen

Hundred-Year Anniversary of the Opening of the Teaching in North America.


The left side refers to the 4th　(第４)　completion　（成満） of the Shikoku pigrimage　（四国通路）, and then lists two names: Kurata Yasuo and Tomoko　（倉田康男、智子）, as donors or benefactors (施主).

The last line names the head of the temple (I guess):

Leader (先達) of this branch temple (別院), 7th generation (第七世) Abbot (大僧正)... and then it gives the abbot's name 諦詮。

The right side names the temple: Koya-san (高野山) US (米国) Branch Temple (別院), followed by what I assume is another name:

Eighth Generation (大八世) Asahi (旭)Kiyosumidai (清澄代).

Webcam of Nikko's Shinkyo Bridge

Here is a link to the Shinkyo bridge webcam in Nikko Japan. I like to visit this webcam periodically. It is nice to see the bridge and see what the weather is like in Nikko.

Shinkyo bridge is one of the most historically famous bridges in Japan. A couple of years ago it was completely refurbished. It is a red vermillion lacquered bridge and belongs to Futarasan Shrine in Nikko. The bridge was dedicated as a World Heritage site in 1999.

The legend of the bridge is that in 766 the founder of Nikko, Buddhist monk Shodo Shonin, attempted to cross the Daiya river but could not. He prayed for help and was answered when a Buddhist god appeared and released two snakes. The snakes then formed the bridge allowing Shodo Shonin to cross. Hence the name "Snake Bridge."

It is possible the bridge was formed as early as the late Nara period (710-794). Through much of its history, only samurai generals or court representatives could cross Shinkyo. Commoners had to cross the river by a nearby temporary bridge. In 1902, the bridge was washed out in a flood and rebuilt in 1904.