If you want to read the full story, start here: Koyasan story - Part 1 The day after a night's rest in the Buddhist monastery was Kobo Daishi's birthday which this year coincided with the 1,200th anniversary where he introduced esoteric buddhism to Japan. There were festivities and cultural demonstrations on every corner and at every temple. At the monastery where we stayed one of the monks told us that we should head to the main temple around noon because that was where the Kobo Daishi birthday celebration/ceremony was to take place.
When we got there we saw a lot of monks dressed in really nice robes heading to the temple and within we could hear chanting. It was loud chanting. I was imagining the whole hall to be very full of monks in prayer. I was sort of tip-toeing, trying to get a better look from afar because I felt there was no way we would be allowed inside. This was when Chase, a 25-year-old guy from California who was traveling alone, noticed me and introduced himself. He said he ran into a Japanese lady who was giving tours for free today because of the special occasion and asked if my friends and I would be interested. SHE. WAS. AWESOME. She was incredibly engaging and knowledgable about everything. I think she was excited to show foreigners around since they do not get too many tourists in Koya-san. But most importantly, she got us into the birthday celebration in the main temple. =) I don't know how to even describe it. There must have been about 200 monks all sitting together towards the middle. There was one monk seated towards the end that was leading the prayer and here and there the whole hall would join in when it was their turn. The further away you got from the center, there would be young kids not older than us that looked like they were in the process of becoming monks, and then travel groups of Japanese people from all over Japan, and then us. Chase, Una, Tehilah and I were the only non-Japanese people there. I was able to sneak a video of the experience:
Now for the Kanji!
気 Kunyomi:いき - "iki" Onyomi:キ - "ki", ケ - "ke" Meaning: spirit, mind, air, atmosphere, mood Jōyō Kanji taught in grade 1 JLPT level N5 113 of 2500 most common used kanji in newspapers.
Koya-san was like a dream. It was as if we walked right into a movie set because it was so picturesque. It seemed practically untouched from the outside, modern world. The best part of this experience was having the opportunity to stay a night at a Buddhist monastery.
When we had originally planned this trip, staying the night was not part of our itinerary. We had only planned to make this a day trip since Sunday was our only day off from class. When we arrived and saw that we just so happened to be in Koya-san for Kobo Daishi's birthday celebration, my Chinese friend Una, whom is Buddhist herself, was the first to tell me "Kami... I am not leaving here today. Screw class. This is bigger." I took a leap of faith and followed her plan. I will never regret this decision for as long as I live.
"Kami... I am not leaving here today. Screw class. This is bigger." - Una Wang
We found ourselves finding one of the last few vacancies in one of the more secluded monasteries of the town. Koya-san was completely full of devout Japanese buddhists who had traveled there for the festivities. We were so excited that we went into the first tiny store we could find and purchased ourselves traditional Japanese yukatas (casual/everyday kimonos). The monks we were staying with were very friendly and some could speak English and a few others could speak Mandarin with my friend Una. When entering the temple/monastery you had to take off your shoes and put on the sandals they provided.
Our room while staying at the monastery!
Then we were led to our room which was behind some sliding door screens and was completely covered in tatami mat (traditional Japanese straw mat). There was one short table in the center and to one side there was a small shrine and a statue of the Buddha. Our beds were futon mats that we rolled out on the floor. It was so cool!!! And surprisingly comfortable.
While at the monastery, there was a scheduled time for everything. This entailed meals (which we would share with the monks and other guests in a big room), time for bath (which was communal and divided by gender), and group meditations. The first meditation session everyone did together in the meditation room was around the time the sun was setting and was to last for one hour. Everyone walked in and took a pillow if they desired and sat down. Every five minutes or so a monk would ring a bell that would hold a vibration/sound for a long time. I remember at first feeling a great discomfort in my knees which quickly spread to my entire body. I was really having a hard time concentrating and trying to reach a meditative state. That was until... it started to rain. I could hear the light padding from the rain that fell on the wooden building we were in as well as on the sand and plants in the rock garden outside and surrounding gardens. It was incredibly relaxing. All of a sudden and without even realizing it I fell into a deep meditative state. I completely lost track of time and space. The pain in my body vanished, or I did not notice it anymore. It was the deepest I have ever meditated in my life. The remaining time flew by so fast and when one of the monks rang the gong signaling meditation time was over, I felt like a new person. Its funny how something so simple as rain can have such a powerful effect under these circumstances.
Pensive Kamilah overlooking the rock garden in the Buddhist monastery - so grateful for the once-in-a-lifetime
experience I had in Koyasan!
Now for the Kanji!
雨 Kunyomi:あめ - "ame" Onyomi:ウ - "u" Meaning: rain Jōyō Kanji taught in grade 1 950 of 2500 most common used kanji in newspapers.
Some common compounds in Japanese using the ame character (following the hiragana spelling, the romanji spelling and then the English meaning): Common Kun Compound(s): 大雨 - おおあめ - "ōame" - heavy rain
小雨 -こさめ - "kosame" - light rain, drizzle
Common On Compound(s): 雨天- ウテン - "uten" - rainy weather 雨期- ウキ - "uki" - rainy season Where:
大 Kunyomi:おお - "ō-", おお.きい - "ōkii" [大きい] Onyomi:ダイ - "dai", タイ - "tai" Meaning: large, big Jōyō Kanji taught in grade 1 7 of 2500 most common used kanji in newspapers.
小 Kunyomi:ちい.さい - "chiisai" [小さい] こ - "ko-" Onyomi:シヨウ - "shiyō" Meaning: little, small Jōyō Kanji taught in grade 1 114 of 2500 most common used kanji in newspapers.
天 Kunyomi:あまつ - "amatsu" あめ - "ame" あま - "ama-" Onyomi:テン - "ten" Meaning: heavens, sky, imperial Jōyō Kanji taught in grade 1 512 of 2500 most common used kanji in newspapers.
期 Kunyomi:-- Onyomi:キ - "ki" ゴ - "go" Meaning: period, time, date, term Jōyō Kanji taught in grade 3 117 of 2500 most common used kanji in newspapers.
If you want to read the full story, start here: Koyasan story - Part 1 When we arrived to Koya-san we were not expecting what we found. When we got there we realized that the next day (a Monday) was the birthday of Kobo Daishi, the man who introduced Esoteric Buddhism in Japan from China over a thousand years ago. Also, we soon discovered that this was the year that they celebrate exactly 1200 years of Esoteric Buddhism in Japan. We were amazed at how lucky we were to just so happen to be in Koya-san while they were celebrating such an important holiday for them on a very special year. It was fate.
Group of monks headed to the main temple where the Kobo Daishi
birthday celebration and prayers were to take place.
There were festivities going on everywhere and they would continue on to the next day. Monks were roaming around the small religious town and were all in very beautiful celebratory clothes. The place felt very lively and happy. There was a lot of people packed in the small town. It seemed as if all the religious Buddhists of Japan were in Koya-san that weekend. I also felt very humbled to have that opportunity to see get a glimpse of this aspect of Japanese culture, as there were very few foreigners there with us. We ended up deciding to stay the night at a temple with monks and skipped class the next day. We felt that this was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that we could not miss.. and we were right. The character "un" means luck or fortune but it could also mean to carry or motion. For instance, 運動 (undou) means exercise. It can be paired with the character "inochi" which is also used in words and pronounced as "mei":
INOCHI
Inochi or mei, can represent things like destiny, life and decree, as in something that has "ordered" for stuff to happen to you throughout your existence.
Together, these characters form the word UNMEI.
UNMEI
Unmei is the word for fate/destiny. Whew, with two characters we knocked out so many different words :) Continue this story HERE
Join me on my journey as I try to learn one Japanese kanji character at a time! Each post dedicates itself to a new character which is then connected to a personal anecdote of my life and travels!
