Occurences so Far

Sorry. I know that I have not gotten to this Blogger in a while, but I have been having a little trouble…so less excuses and more fun, right?

Typhoon Incident:
It was a calm cool evening and it had been raining all day, but only a slight drizzle. However throughout the entire day I kept hearing various people’s warnings about the incoming storm or typhoon. I blew it off thinking that it was just going to be a slight downpour…nothing too bad. My esteemed colleague and friend, Andres of Leon, Spain, and I were simply sitting in the student lounge around 6 when we realized that there was only one beverage left in the moderately sized case of 6 that we had bought earlier. It was time to act. So I, unaware of the true prowess of a typhoon, decided that I would go and purchase another moderately sized package of bieru as well as some “otsamommi” or food that is consumed while drinking (yes, they have a word for such things. It was through such terms as this that I realized the truth: I may not be able to fit into their cars, but I can fit into their culture just fine). As I went out into the storm I thought to myself, “my self, it really is raining pretty hard,” but I advanced like our confused youth in Iraq and thought to myself that I had a fairly righteous mission ahead of me. And the store was only a few blocks away. Upon reaching the store I knew what to grab as far as drink was concerned, but I was unsure about the food. After trying to communicate with the locals by attempting to drink a fake beer and simulating eating, they just shook their head at me and waved their hands at me indicating that it was time to pay and leave; which I did. But my stomach was not about to let me retreat home only completing half of my mission. So I trudged on through the rain to the nearest vendor of delectable dried squid and the such; which was about another five blocks away. When I reached the “7-11” I was leaving a wake of puddles behind me throughout the store. Finally having purchased the vittles I made my way back home. When I reached the lounge Andres looked on in amazement and excitement. We then retreated to our housing and dried off. I found that all of my clothing, every layer (including my under-roos) was soaked. But the mission was a success and we were then able to join the surrounding ground in getting a little “wet.” Typhoons are the Asian equivalent of a blizzard, they really do have everything in this country.

How to Practice the Zazen, or how to gain enlightenment through the process of confusion and pain.
When asked if I would like to “go to temple,” I thought that it would be a good picture opportunity. I had wanted to see a temple and perhaps take some pictures of these Buddhist landmarks. So I agreed; what a mistake. I was to go the following Tuesday, which was October 5, the instructor who asked if I would like to go then informed me that a student would pick me up and assist me in getting to the temple on time and exactly where it was. The student that he chose was Makoto, a young woman who was studying Spanish. Therefore, she was not able to assist me at all having only experience in two languages that I could not speak at all. When the time came that we were to leave it dawned on me that I had no clue what I was going to be doing. It could have been a prayer, a party, a sacrifice; I had no clue, but when on anyway. After navigating our way through rush hour traffic at a few different railway stations and switching trains a few times we arrived at the temple. Now I don’t know about you, but I had always thought that areas of enlightenment would be a little different; not that there was anything wrong with this place, it just wasn’t what I had imagined. I had thought that it would be a very bare, clean, fresh-smelling place filled with incense and smiles. As it is it was filled with stern faces and smelled of a musty church basement (you know, institutionalized cleaner and the slight smell of week old baked goods; pleasant yet not what I expected). Soon after arriving I was taken up towards the sanctuary, or the place in which I was going to pray the Zazen, which is the ordinary practice of most Zen-Buddhists’. It was there that I was asked whether or not I knew how to pray the Zazen, to which I answered honestly and with a little astonishment, “nope, not at all.” After receiving a little look of confusion (I’m sure that this stranger was thinking the same thing that I was, “what on Buddha’s sand garden is this kid doing here,”). I was then given a quick orientation of what I was expected to do, which was to sit with my legs tucked under me in “lotus” position and stare at the wall. I was not told what the prayer time entailed, such as the simple facts of how long was I supposed to sit here, what was I trying to attain, and what is going to happen? The answer to such questions was not on the itinerary for the orientation, just how I supposed to look. So when the time came and the instructor who invited me arrived it was time to assume the position; which I did. And there I sat for one hour while being periodically startled by the sounds of a gong and by the chants of those around me. The chants were nice. They came about forty-five minutes into the sitting. At first I thought to myself, “self, this isn’t too bad.” But then they carried on for fifteen minutes. The only comparison that I can give to you, the reader, to better understand the situation would be to have you sit in the back seat of a very small car, perhaps a Volkswagen, and have someone first poke at your legs to render them useless and then have someone blare ambient noises at you that will only startle and confuse you…but do not listen to anything that you could possibly understand or eventually appreciate. Perhaps a chorus of food processing devices played at different levels. And that my friends, is how one achieves enlightenment.

Authors note: none of this is meant to be rude, it is simply an attempt to illustrate the difficulties of being in a foreign country and having a very limited understanding of the culture. I am happy that I went to the temple, because now I know to avoid it. The people that were practicing the Zazen appeared to be enjoying it immensely, which is a wonderful thing. Spiritual enlightenment of any sort is great for any individual, and I support that. However, it was not for me. Sorry Mr. Buddha, but I don’t get it.