Two nights in a Buddhist temple

What comes into your mind when you hear the words “temple” and “Buddhism”? What about “Zen”? In my head a picture of bold men and women appears, living a quiet and stressless life in a green environment. They are wearing simple cloth made from cotton and always carry a smile on their lips, never hesitate to find kind words for people. Besides this, they don’t talk much, but rather sit quietly and meditate all day long.

That was before I went to the Zen-Buddhism temple “Sougenji” (曹源寺) in Okayama last weekend. I’ve been there before in summer 2010 and was enchanted by the lovely atmosphere I felt, while talking to the people who tried to live the life of real monks and nuns, and some already for 3 years. However, I didn’t know at that time what they are actually doing all day long and so I decided to visit my friends Leah again, before I’ll have to move to Tokyo. That was my chance to experience the life of the temple and what it might be like to be a monk.

the room I stayed in

  I stayed from Friday to Sunday. Leah showed me my small room where I could sleep at night and spent some time in the “freetime” period in the afternoon. I later realised that the rooms of the monks are way smaller: the girls stayed in separate rooms in a “guesthouse” which were probably just 1.8m x 2.0m in size. The guys slept in the “Zendou”, the place where meditation takes place, so they don’t have an own room, only an own box where they store their personal stuff. 

Right from Friday I joined the temple life, as I had only 48 hours. People told me that I came in a “lucky” time, as the Roushi, the head of the temple, had just left to America. The time schedule was hence a bit relaxed and was as follows: Wake up at 4:30 a.m., get dressed in Hakama and Gi and be in the temple at 4:50 with your Sutra book. 4:50 to 5:50 chanting in the temple with the other monks. 6:00 – 6:30 Zasen (meditation) in the Zendou with everyone. After that quick gardening with raking and picking up leaves; afterwards, in door cleaning until 7:30. Come to breakfast in your working cloth, 7:30 – kitchen. Breakfast and lunch were taken in a kind of praying-eating ceremony. While you prepare your three bowl and chop sticks und when the food is going around and you take some into your bowls, chanting takes place. There was always plenty and very good food – way better, than what I normally eat at home! The bowls were cleaned with a pickle and tea, or hot water which you could drink at the end.  One wipe with your rag and the bowls were “clean” and under chanting stored in a box. Before eating you had to put 7 grain of rice to the side and later a bit of the left-over water in your bowl. These things were offered later as a present to a plant. After breakfast we had working bees until lunch and every day the head monk, or in our case the next monk in row, which was a friendly old man from spain, distributed the work. On Saturday I had to boil water for a little Onsen, which took me 3 hours, burning wood, while I was weeding at the same time. Not to exhausting work, but the second day we cut down some bamboo (so 40-50) and needed to get rid of the branches and leaves, which was quite exhausting. But we had short tea and snack breaks. After lunch (same procedure as breakfast) we had free time until  5 p.m.. I went hiking with Leah! At 5 p.m. a small optional “freestyle” dinner took place, which normally consists of the leftovers from breakfast and lunch and had no ceremony. Everyone was talking to each other. At 6:00 p.m. we were back in our Hakamas and Gis in the Zendou and sit until 9:00, meditating. After that a short good night chanting and off we were for our beds.  

Main hall, where the morning and evening chanting took place.

I said, this was the relaxed schedule, because when the Roushi is there you normally meditate longer and need to wake up earlier. Also the most exhausting mediation week in winter is, when you need to sit from 5.00 a.m. in the morning until 9.00 or 10.00 in the evening, only having breaks for breakfast and lunch. Sleeping was only allowed standing or sitting, definitely not laying. That is what I’ve heard. 

Kitchen

Gangway of the "Guesthouse" with the doors to the rooms of the nuns.

 For me already two days were quite exhausting. The sitting during the mediation was okay, because you were allowed to move every half an hour and every hour you had to walk very fast with the others around the Zendou building.  

So what has changed my image of a monks and nuns life: first of all – you use your body a lot. It is very exhausting, physically as mentally. It is super cold there: I was wearing constantly 3 layers of trousers, 5 layers on my upper body (2 long T-Shirts, Tshirt, Pullover, Gi) and my hat on my head, and I still felt cold. And most of all: it is kind of stressfull – you are not really free; many rules keep you busy and you always check a watch somewhere (as you’re not allowed to wear one) in order to make sure to be at the right time at the right spot!

I really liked this tree, which grows out of an old one!

After all it was a great experience and I felt clearly that I could not live in Sougenji at the moment for probably more than a week or month (or maybe I just need more time to get used to it?). I love it too much to just jump on my bike and be free to move and do what I like to do without anyone telling me what I have to do. But – I really would not like to miss this experience. It was great to talk to these people from all over the world, who are so brave to leave their life behind them and live the hard life of a monk in Sougenji now. After all, it was and is their free decision and they can always leave the temple if they don’t like it anymore. Talking about nationality: I also mentioned it after my last visit, Sougenji is very international. I counted (including me) 4 Germany, 4 Poles, one guy from the Netherland and one from Belgium, one man from France, Spain and Italy, 4 Americans, one Tai woman, and 3 Japanese! 

After I rode my bike back over Higashi-Okayama and arrived at the main station I still had the chanting sing-sang in my head, and as I was walking through the bulk of “busy” Sunday afternoon shopping people, I was looking around my shoulder, expecting a group of monks, chanting! But I could only see people hasting to their trains or checking their phone, and what sounded like the chants from the temple was just the noise from all the busy people, their repetitive chants of “life”

Entrance of Sougenji.

Kitchen house and some other rooms (^.^)

Lake int he garden! The wall is leaking and gets repaired, that's why we had to cut bamboo!