Friday...

So on to the reason I came to Japan...

On Friday morning, we went over to see the Great Sacred Hall, me for the first time. It is a very beautiful place, with steps going up to the main level, and 3 huge paintings above the main entrance, representing Manjushri, Maitreya, and Universal Wisdom. You can pick which door to enter, according to what virtue you are trying to cultivate. There are gentlemen in suits on either side of the wide entry to greet you, and  you walk into a sort of reception area where you can make donations. This area is separated from the main sanctuary by a type of lattice screen, and you can see into the big room, with the stage and the Gohonzon.

The Main Room is a wonder. Photography inside the building is not allowed, so I will do my best to describe it to you...  The building itself is circular, and the sanctuary is semi-circular. There is an eight-story high dome over the room. and from a certain place on the floor, you can look up to the center of the dome, where there are mirrors so you can see yourself in the heavens. The floor is painted with a design, but there were chairs over it so I couldn't see it. There's a little platform up front so that you can get closer to look at the Gohonzon.

I wish I could let you look into my head and see the Buddha-statue. He's 10.5 feet tall, with blue hair and all the 32 signs of the Buddha incorporated into the statue. The Lumen, or sort of a halo behind him is taller. and he stands on a base probably about 6 feet tall. Everything is beautifully colored, and shines brightly. An amazing sight, and I could have stayed in there for a very long time, just looking at the details. Very quiet and peaceful there.

The other levels of the building house a dining facility, (where you look at samples of the food you want, put your money in a machine and push a button for what you want. It gives you a ticket and you take that to a counter and they get you your meal,) a store, and other things. (More about that later.)

Later that day, Randy, Roger and I went over to greet Reverent Mizutani in the International Office. It kind of reminded me of a newsroom, with clocks on the wall for all the different places where RKK is. Reverend Mizutani has a simple desk at the head of the room, and people facing each other across big tables. Everyone was very happy to greet us, we were served coffee and got to talk with the folks in the office. We kept the visit short, as people were working, but it was nice to meet everyone there.

Yes, I am a tourist. (Food Edition)

Things are different here.

Slurping down your noodles is considered a sign that you are enjoying the meal. One of my roommates says it makes them taste better as well.

Breakfast can be anything from the aforementioned noodles, to sandwiches on the absolutely whitest, most delicate bread you've ever eaten, to toast that makes Texas toast look skimpy, with salad and yogurt. (And with that toast you get a little packet that adds both butter and jelly at the same time. Good idea!)

Green tea is served everywhere and with every meal. We had several meals catered in Bento boxes and they always came with a bottle of cold green tea. As that is not my favorite drink, I shared with my roommates, as they were all of Japanese descent, and enjoyed it very much. Very cold water is always available in the vending machines, so I kinda stuck with that.

Noodles were sometimes topped with a patty of scrambled eggs and small tempura shrimp. However, they seems to leave the shells on the shrimp, which I found disconcerting. But I got used to it.

Not a lot of vegetables, and they were generally IN things as opposed to as a separate side dish. I tried lotus root for the first time, it looked kinda like a slice of potato, which has natural holes around the perimeter, and I think one down the center. Flavor was bland, but not unpleasant.

One my first night there, my roomies shared mochi with red bean paste filling. It is a rice-based dish, sweet and chewy, not quite gummy-bear-chewy, but close.  That chewy, gelatinous texture seems to be a hallmark of Japanese cuisine. I had ordered a dish with scallops for dinner one night, and found them cooked so as to be very chewy. Couldn't quite get them down.

Another given about Japanese foods is that flavors are very subtle. American flavors tend to shout, Japanese flavors whisper. We had a tapioca-type dessert with a simple, clean but mild vanilla flavor which was very nice, and natural tasting, not artificial-chemical-kick vanilla.

Miso soup is another staple, and one I love, especially the very darkest kind that looks like beef broth. I asked my friend Nick what kind it was so I could get some at home, but he explained that there are many variations, sometimes down to the regions the soy beans were grown in. So if you know a brand of miso that seems like my dark miso, let me know what it is!!

Journey to Japan, Part Two.

I take back what I may have posted somewhere about Vancouver, B.C. being the biggest airport I have ever been in. Japan's Narita Airport is bigger. Another half-mile or so on my sneakers made up for sitting so long on the plane.

Backing up a bit: the flight to Japan was excellent except for the fact I had a middle seat. But the plane was clean, (SPOTLESSLY CLEAN RESTROOM BIG ENOUGH TO TURN AROUND IN!! Didn't think that was possible!) Each seat had a video screen, and a wide variety of entertainment to choose from at no charge, and you could also track the progress of the flight. Very cool. We had 2 meals on the nine-hour flight, a little heavy on the starches, but overall not bad. The flight attendants were friendly and offered drinks several times. Announcements were made in English, French and Japanese. If Air Canada is ever a travel option for you, I recommend it.

So we landed in the rain, and after only a little confusion, I met up with my friends Randy and Roger from Oklahoma. They helped me get money changed, and we got on the bus to Shinjuku Station.

Public transportation in Tokyo is a great. The bus was so clean, it looked brand new. It was a long ride, but not uncomfortable. You might not even need a car to live here.  As soon as we got off the bus, we grabbed a cab and rode the last way to Second Pilgrimage Hall, our home away from home.

Got settled in, met my room-mates, and got ready for bed.

Let me tell you about bathrooms in Japan.

Let's start at the doorway. You leave your outdoor shoes in a little alcove at the door of your home, and wear slippers in the home itself. EXCEPT when you go to the restroom. Then you go to the bathroom entry and change into special "toilet slippers" (labeled as such)  while you take care of business.

The toilets here can warm your bum for you, rinse you off with comfortably warm water, and some will even play music if you want to mask your noises. If I ever build a house...

Enough for now. Almost time for dinner. 

Possibilities

So here I am at PDX. (See Facebook for obligatory photo of carpet.) I like airports, I don't know why. Maybe it is the sense of possibility. You can go anywhere from here. Across the U.S., Europe, Africa, or in my case, Japan.

It is just now sinking in to me, the enormity of what I'm doing. I'm going to the other side of the Pacific Ocean, something that used to take months of ship travel. I know people do this every day, but it still amazes me.  The world is still huge to me, but now within reach.

Journey to Japan, Part One

So after a very long day on the train, I am safe at Ann Rinehard's home in Vancouver. We had a tasty, peaceful meal of chicken soup and cornbread, just what I needed after junk food on the journey north. Ann told me about some of her experiences in Japan, and I am feeling less anxious and more excited about tomorrow and the coming days.

I don't sleep well at the best of times, but I am really tired tonight, and hope to get a good night's rest before the next leg of my journey.  We'll see what tomorrow brings. Meanwhile, "Goodnight stars, goodnight air, goodnight noises everywhere."

Ranking Up

So, my bags are mostly packed, except for the last minute stuff like medicines and whatnot. My house is mostly clean, still gotta tidy up the bathroom, and make sure I leave the key for my kitty-sitter extraordinare Liz. Orange and Skittelz sense something is up, they're both really clingy today. Skittelz made friends when Liz came to meet them, but Orange is more wary of strangers, so she may take awhile... I find myself getting more and more attached to them since I lost Amisi and Khepri, and will probably have another one of my own once my daughter reclaims these two.

I've been thinking about what this trip really means for me. It seems it is both a recognition, and a gaining of new responsibility. Kinda like getting a new belt in my martial arts class. Yes, you gain rank, but you also have new challenges to work with, new knowledge to absorb, and someday pass on to your students. But you must always, ALWAYS, keep the mind of a beginner.  To look at something as though you've never seen it before, and be open to all possibilities.

This is what I think I will need to do as a Dharma Teacher. To see every person I meet as for the first time, and  see the infinite possibilities in them. To help them see the possibilities in themselves. To gently advise when asked. To always keep striving for my own growth. To be a good example and be gentle with myself when I fall short, as will inevitably happen.

I hope I can live up to this new role.

So I thought that just for fun, I'd revive this blog for my trip to Japan, and maybe afterward. Not sure if anyone will be interested, but it will be for my own memories if nothing else. I had tinkered with it a few years ago, and now just seemed like a good time to resurrect it.

So two weeks from today, I leave for Tokyo, Japan to receive my Dharma Teacher status with Rissho Kosei Kai. The travel is all arranged and paid for, accommodation along the way all set, and even some new clothes bought for the trip. It will be my first time in a truly foreign country. (Canada hardly counts as foreign.)

 I have always loved to travel, and the Church has given me opportunities to see places I only dreamed of, like Hawaii and New York City. It's still not quite real to me that I will be on the other side of the Pacific Ocean, in a land so different from home. But I will be among friends, and so am looking forward to the adventure this truly is. Wish me luck!!