Journey # 102 Japan

Some journeys are measured in flights. This one was measured in buses. After landing in Japan we still had three hours on the road from Tokyo to Tochigi, and then another forty-five minutes up into the mountains to reach the retreat site of Wat Phra Dhammakaya Tochigi. By the time the bus stopped I had seen a good part of the Japanese countryside through the window, and I was ready to sit still for a week.

A Clean, Quiet Place

What struck me first was how clean and organised everything was. The grounds, the halls, the tatami floors, the little A-frame cabins tucked against the forest: every corner looked cared for, and nothing was out of place. A venue like this does half of the work for a teacher. The Universal Goodness 5 (UG5) training asks participants to slow down, look inwards and let go, and when the surroundings are already calm and uncluttered the mind follows more easily. The training felt more powerful and more effective here than it often does elsewhere.

It is a beautiful place too. In these mountains there is even a chance of seeing deer, or bears. I kept my eyes open all week, but I did not see either. The only deer I met was a wooden one standing in the bamboo garden.

One Monk, Almost Every Session

The participants came from all over, but none of them was Japanese. A few Japanese volunteers joined us for some of the sessions, which was a warm and welcome presence.

I was the only teaching monk, and I had no Peace Architect alongside me, so I facilitated almost every session by myself. Venerable Thaniyo led two of them, and even those two made a big difference. A week of teaching is a long stretch to carry alone, and I was grateful for every hour of that help.

Small Challenges

The second challenge, after the long journey, was the weather. The air was very humid, and getting my robe to dry took real planning. A damp robe is a good teacher of patience.

Then my shoes tore apart right after I arrived in Japan. A monk can walk a long way without much, but not without shoes, and I had no replacement during the first days of the retreat. I got by until I could find a new pair, and I have not been so happy about a pair of shoes in a long time.

Meditating in Tents

We had outdoor meditation three times, and it was my first time to meditate, and to guide a meditation, from inside a tent. Everyone sat in their own small tent, spread out through the garden and the bamboo grove. It felt as if we were all meditating individually, together: each person in a private space, yet sharing the same quiet, the same birdsong and the same forest air.

Offering Food

The food was great. Well, it is Japanese food, after all. Our participants also had a chance to learn how to offer food to monks, standing in the lane with their baskets while we held out our bowls, and to see how simple and joyful the practice of giving can be.

Lucky With the Weather

We were fortunate in more ways than one. While the retreat was running, there was a big flood in Nagoya. Nothing of that reached us. We sat in the hall, walked on the path between the cabins and practised through the week in peace, and I did not forget how lucky that was.

Rushing Home Before Dawn

The retreat was held during the Theravada monks’ rain retreat, so travelling was tricky for me. A monk in the rains retreat is only allowed to be away from the temple for a limited period of time. My flight landed in Thailand at 2:00 am, and I had to rush straight back to the temple before dawn to stay within it.

Sayonara

Sayonara, Japan (さようなら). Thank you to everyone who organised, volunteered, cooked, joined and sat in the tents with us. Hopefully I will see you again one day: じゃまたね, ja mata ne.