臨済宗南禅寺派圓通寺

 ‘Zazen’

 At the end of July 2004, I got a phone call from a certain faculty of theology in Kyoto City.

‘We hold the seminar with American monotheism priests while once time in a year. So, we arrange sixteen priests to Kyoto when this autumn. We will take the vegetable cuisine in Tenryuji. And we hope to practice Zazen in Nanzenji.’

I agreed to their proposal. The schedule is at 15^th November.

When going through the canal bridge on the right of facing Nanzenji office, there is Nanzenin. In 1291, it is the honorable temple from when Nanzenji founded. At that day, I invited them to that place. Firstly, I guided the method to practice Zazen and they did Zazen for half an hour. After that, I remarked that please give me your question. Then, one of the priest with good physique asked me a question.

‘I can hear many birdsongs. How many birds singing at all? The sound of breeze and the babbling of brook are beautiful. I have nothing experience like that until now. Why?’

I answered.

‘You might have clean ears by practicing Zazen. When you do sit calmly so you can get a calm sense. Then, you can hear good birdsong.’

Next their question are what the problem of education of successors and the decrease of the followers or regarding the issue of streamlining of the churches. Both in the East and the West, these are the same matter of worries for churches and temples.    

 ‘Participating the tea ceremony’

After practicing Zazen, I guided them to the tea ceremony room. A couple time in a month, those who participating Kyoto branch office of the Shohen schools are practicing tea ceremony in Nanzenji. I asked the teacher to take part in it, so she willingly agreed to do. Because of small room I guided them into the room by dividing two times.

One of the participator who is a woman protestant priest remarked.

‘Her handiwork is beautiful. The teakettle’s sound is very good. I enjoy the calm of the boiling sound like that.

The tea ceremony teacher explained.

‘The Shohen schools is one of the tea ceremony school for the samurai class. It began in the Age of Civil Wars (the 15^th century ~the 16^th C). How to exchange bows or another manners, we will do like squaring our elbows. In ancient times, the military commanders was fond of it. In the tea ceremony room, we will put in the incense into the fire under the teakettle.’ 

A rabbi in Judaism asked the teacher.

‘Why do you put in an incense into the fire? What is the raw material of it?’

The teacher answered.

‘There are five kinds of incense in a year. We change them according the seasons. There are many kinds of the incense’s materials. Those are made by an aromatic tree or a drying flowers. About your asking, why do you put in the incense? It is the service for the visitors. When inviting visitors to the tea ceremony room, look after them attentively. It is important mater. I put the incense on the tokonoma (the alcove) too.’

On the tokonoma, there is the hanging calligraphy which was wrote in ‘IKKU NI NOMITUKUSU SEIKO NO MIZU（一口吸尽西江水）’. One of the participator asked me about its meaning. I answered her.

‘Seiko means the Yellow River in China. In USA, it means the Mississippi River. It might call the Pacific Ocean. We don’t discriminate between drinking a cup of tea and drinking all the Ocean’s water. When drinking a cup of tea, we able to be marvelous action immediately. It means like that.’

Practicing Zazen and the religious exchange was closed peacefully. This Zazen meeting was a chance that will never come again for me.

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