In my recounting of my first trip to Japan in 1989, I remarked that when we arrived in Tokyo and settled in at our "businessman's hotel" (J. seifuso), breaking out our sitting cushions (J. zafu), and sitting in zazen, it became clear to me that I had not gone anywhere. Ten thousand miles and four thousand dollars later, we were — or at least I was — in the same place. And, indeed, that there is only one place. Some historical references may be appropriate here, to get a grip on the historical scope of Matsuoka Roshi's mission to the US, in the context of the times as well as those leading up to his lifetime, and our following in his gentle footsteps.
This month we celebrate Founder's Month, recognizing that our founding teacher from Japan, who asked to be called, simply, Sensei, was born, and died, in the month of November, the former in 1912, the latter in 1997, some 20 years after the founding of ASZC.
Read more: December 2015 Dharma Byte & Japan Journal 4
For those who have never done so, and wonder about traveling to Japan, I would encourage you to consider it. You will do better if you develop some conversational Japanese, but you can get along without it, especially if you have a friend or a guide who has the language. We were fortunate to have a guide on most of this trip, which made our ambitious itinerary possible, owing to his grasp of not only the language, but the transportation system.
Many Japanese people who see that you are having a difficult time will step up to help out, if they are more fluent in English than most. In general, the people are extraordinarily warm and friendly, and sympathetic to westerners, especially if you are friendly with them. A smile goes a long way, as does any attempt to use polite language. Especially when they find out that you are there for something to do with Buddhism, or their culture, they seem to blossom. There were more than one instance where we spontaneously launched into chanting the Hannya Shingyo with some local women, notably at a Shingon monastery, and once on the train platform.
The infrastructure for traveling by train in Japan, from light rail to the bullet train, makes the US look like a third-world country. In LA airport, the litter and generally dirty environment contributed to the impression, and the sheer lack of alternatives to the automobile, there as well as in Atlanta, reinforces the idea that we have left true civilization far behind, by returning home. It is a weird feeling. In Chicago or New York City, the transportation system begins to level out, but the filthy character of the environment makes you shudder for the visitor from Japan whose first impression must be pretty disturbing.
Read more: November 2015 Dharma Byte
In the early days of my practice, whenever someone would discover my involvement or interest in Zen, which I was not eager to make known to any and all, they would commonly ask, "Have you been to Japan?" or a similar question. At first, I felt it a natural reaction, and a reasonable question to pose. But after giving it some thought, as we say (as if thought were some precious commodity not to be wasted on trivial matters), and in the light of the intervening emergence of the organization of Zen in the USA, with its complement of training centers, priests, and even a professional organization, the Soto Zen Buddhist Association, it seems curiouser and curiouser, with apologies to Lewis Carroll.
The question begs the question, that if you have not gone to Japan, then your practice of Zen may itself be questionable. Or if you have gone to Japan, the follow-on question would be regarding where and when, and whether you were exposed to Zen there. Or if you were merely a tourist, your claiming to be "into Zen" would be subject to dismissal, as not being the real thing. It is as if Japan and Zen are joined at the hip.
Read more: October 2015 Dharma Byte
