For the full zen, stay at an ancient temple in Japan
Our writer bypasses the hotels and ryokans to spend a night as a guest of Buddhist monks. He didn’t anticipate the wooden stick, though.
A Buddhist monk is pacing back and forwards in front of me wielding a large wooden stick as I try to meditate.
The stick, known as a keisaku, is a disciplinary tool designed to remedy lapses in concentration during Zazen, a form of meditation practice in some Japanese Buddhist sects.
The monk has the authority to strike me on my back and shoulders if I shift position or fall asleep, which is highly likely as it’s 6.30am and there is no coffee in sight. I am sitting cross-legged on a tatami mat in an airy meditation hall, not far from the city of Hamamatsu, on Japan’s Honshu island.
My problem is that the possibility of pain is interfering with my concentration. I try to focus as the monk, Shiei Yamagami (he later gives me a business card), floats by.
I try focusing on the sound of the light rain falling in the valley outside, or on my own breathing. My left foot has fallen asleep, and I am unsure I can last the distance, even though we have to mediate for only 10 minutes rather than the traditional 40 minutes practised by Buddhist monks in this working temple where we have spent the night.
In the end, he does not strike, explaining that he cannot do so unless I give my tacit approval by leaning forward as he passes by. I am curious, so I ask him to give it a go anyway. Yamagami approaches and there is a sharp cracking sound across each shoulder. It certainly wakes me up, but the pain is manageable.
“See, not too bad?” he laughs.
We are in a temple deep in the mountains about two hours south-west of Tokyo.
The sprawling Okuyama Houkouji complex, established 500 years ago, is the head temple of a Japanese Buddhist sector called Houkouji and a destination for pilgrims from around the country. The site includes a huge main hall, a three-storey pagoda, the Hansōbō temple and the Founder’s Hall.
The setting is magnificent even in the pouring rain. The only way here is by car and the site is surrounded by cedar trees and 500 stone arhat statues lining the road. In the late afternoon, the sound of a resident monk chanting a mantra and ringing a gong reverberates through the valley.
Temple stays are not new in Japan, where visiting pilgrims have been offered accommodation at sacred places for centuries. But select temples are now opening their doors to tourists and non-practitioners, offering a unique alternative to Japan’s ryokans and hotels.
The accommodation, which reflects the simple, austere lifestyle of Buddhist monks, cannot be described as luxurious but it’s comfortable and offers total immersion in Japanese Buddhist culture.
Our stay at Okuyama Houkouji is a unique experience as we are the only guests there during an off-season visit (late March). My partner and I have the place to ourselves and are free to roam. Yamagami, who is an engaging host with good English, spends more than an hour guiding us around the complex, explaining its history, the significance of the temples, shrines and gardens.
Like most temple lodgings, the Japanese-style rooms feature tatami mats, sliding doors called fusuma, and futons which you may or may not have to lay out yourself. Toilets are shared and there is a large communal bath, segregated for men and women, which is usually only open in the evening.
The schedule is rigid, as it is with any temple stay in Japan. Dinner, served in a huge but empty cafeteria at 6pm, is one of the highlights. The elaborate vegetarian meals (shojin ryori) substitute meat and fish with protein-rich plant products and are presented in small dishes and lacquered boxes. Despite the monks’ apparently simple lives, they eat well, and we leave the dinner table satisfied. Alcohol is not available.
Dinner is followed at 7pm by sutra copying or buddha drawing, which is designed to discipline and calm the mind. I’m hopeless at the traditional art form but my partner, who grew up in Hong Kong and was made to copy sutras when he was naughty at school, excels. At 8pm, our typed schedule lists “free time” for bathing, after which we roll out our futons and hit the sack early. The Zazen meditation session the next morning starts at 6.30am, followed by a vegetarian breakfast.
The accommodation for one night, including dinner and breakfast is ¥15,000 (about $150) per person. Bookings can be made on the temple’s website https://oterastay.com/houkouji/en/
Okuyama Houkouji is one of hundreds of temple stays now on offer in Japan, but it feels less commercial than others I have experienced. The location is remote and peaceful, although it only a short drive from the city of Hamamatsu.
The city itself is only 90 minutes on the Shinkansen from Tokyo, which makes it accessible for visitors even on a short visit to Japan.
Hamamatsu has a large Flower Park, which draws many Tokyo residents in spring for flower festivals, and the spectacular hilltop Akihasan Hongū Akiha Shrine. The local food delicacy is grilled eel.
Earlier that month, I had visited Koyasan, a Buddhist mountain retreat in Japan about two hours drive from Osaka. The town’s hundreds of temples, shrines and Japan’s oldest cemetery rival the sights of Kyoto with far fewer tourists but no luxury options.
My accommodation there was Eko-in Temple, which was a more extravagant and more commercial experience than at Okuyama Houkouji. We had to share the experience with dozens of other foreign tourists who joined us at the Goma prayer service in the afternoon and an Instagrammable fire ceremony the following morning. Our room there was ¥50,000 (about $500) for two people, including meals.
While the experiences vary, a temple stay is a unique way to experience Japan, clear your mind and hopefully find some zen along the way.
The writer stayed at Okuyama Houkouji as a guest of the Hamamatsu and Lake Hamana Tourism Bureau.
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