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As a young student of Aikido, I believed we should behave somehow strong and superior, a bit like the samurai in certain old Japanese b&w movies. When, at the end of my first year of practice, Kobayashi Hirokazu gave an Aikido seminar in my home town, I was much looking forward to meet some kind of martial arts super hero …

And there he came: yellow T-shirt, worn-out blue jogging pants and two plastic bags in each hand. He occupied the place on the bench next to mine in the changing room, and started putting on his dogi and hakama.

He? A super duper martial arts hero, looking like that? An Aikido master who studied over 25 years with Ueshiba Morihei, the founder of Aikido? In a yellow T-shirt? Undressing next to me in the students’ changing room? He must be a fraud!

But Kobayashi Sensei was a true master, I later found out (and I am very grateful for what I learned from him during all the years)!

Though, his behaviour was always so modest, so normal, so non-pretentious, you could easily mistaken him for just a friendly old man. Well, actually, that’s what he was: a friendly old man … and a true master of his art!

All the really good teachers I have later met in my life shared this attitude of true modesty, of friendliness and compassion. All of them were always very approachable for the young student … and so I kept as good as possible a certain safety distance to those teachers and senior students, who appeared too fierce and master-like already at a first glance.

I often wonder, why so many of us are so eager to get degrees and certificates? A coloured or black belt for the martial arts, student- and master ranks for calligraphy, flower arrangement, or even a certificate stating your Enlightenment for some few Zen-students.

But what kind of Enlightenment is that, which can be proofed by a sheet of paper? Would you seriously consider asking your partner for a certificate to hang above your bed, confirming your qualities as a lover after a perfect night?

Looking back in Japanese history, the system of certification was introduced mainly to create a life-long dependency of the student from his master. The student will most likely never be free, and it is this master alone, who will or will not promote him to the next rank, years after he worked so hard for him and paid sufficient tuition and examination fees. And if the master wishes to do so, he can any time take everything away from his devoted student, without any justification.

I have seen so many dedicated and talented students of Japanese (martial) arts, who lost all joy and pleasure of studying while hunting for the next degree, or the next teacher, who has a higher rank in his pocket as a welcome gift. And I have met others, who, in desperate need of high ranks, founded their own organisations, to issue degrees to themselves.

Why can’t we just enjoy what we learn? Why not gradually improve our skills, and trust our intuition and our teacher’s guidance, that things develop in the right direction?

I never saw my beloved Aikido teacher  Kobayashi Hirokazu examining students or issuing degrees. His teaching was generous, and we stayed independent. He sometimes said, he gives us the pearls, but making the necklace from them is our duty.

In my Dojo, there is examination every day, every moment! As soon as you come through the door, until you drive away with your car, I see you! And you see me. Both of us pass or fail, moment by moment, no difference. I won’t write it on a sheet of paper, and I won’t ask you to do so.

Tomorrow, we get our next chance, pass or fail, and so on, day by day. This is our life, moment for moment, day by day!

In Singapore I visited the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum. It is a new and very impressive Chinese-style red-golden-shiny building, which houses a temple, a museum, a museum-shop, a roof-garden with an enormous prayer wheel (they say the “world’s largest”), thousands of Buddha statues of any colour, size and origin.

I saw the priests and many many devotees chanting Sutras for more than an hour, you could go anywhere even during the ceremonies, and all admission free. On the top floor there is a golden chamber with a golden shrine containing Buddhas tooth relic, also open to the public.

In the Museum, the life of the historic Buddha and spreading of Buddhism is explained and illustrated with many statues from all over the world. The second half of the exhibition deals with the future Buddha Maitreya, which appears to be an essential believe for the community operating this temple.

Having a more practical hands-on and not-so-religious approach towards Buddhism, I usually don’t do much more than filling the little bowls of my kitchen and Zendo Buddhas, and occasionally I bow and light incense, considering the long long line of ancestors transmitting Buddhism to our part of the world and our generation. I guess, that’s really the horizon of my understanding of Buddhism …

So I was curious to learn, how the monks living at such an elaborate and educated place would express their Buddhist believes with their bodies’ actions.  It was a bit astonishing to see, that none of them bowed to the big golden Buddha, when entering the 100 dragons hall before the ceremony started. They just came in and sat down on their chairs, like my engineering students at the university do, before I start my lecture.

On the Shinkansen from Sendai back to Tokyo I saw something I would call “typically Japanese“. I do not like calling people’s behaviour “typically something”, but a brand-new iPhone 3, charging at the power supply next to a sink opposite of the toilets, and no owner nearby, is typically Japanese, and I love it!

The bag left outside the toilet house by the businessman while answering nature’s call is a not so rare sight in Ueno Park (where lots of homeless people live as well), and still today many of the more old-fashioned ryokan have no lock at the sliding doors. Anyone could enter my room while I am away, but obviously this is no concern.

The feeling of mutual trust creates an atmosphere, which makes daily life so much easier and so much more pleasant. Just imagine, no locks required!

Another special encounter with trusting people I had at Engakuji temple during my visit last Sunday: I wanted to buy a new samue (monk’s working cloth), since my old one recently completely ruptured during chores. The lady had one perfectly suitable for my size, but I did not have enough money with me. Eventually, she suggested I take the samue with me, and transfer the money via postal order some time later. All she wanted to know was my name, so she can later match it with the transferred sum. I first thought that must be a misunderstanding, caused by my occasionally failing Japanese, but it was not.

Japanese Buddhist legend tells about creatures called gaki, the hungry ghosts, which have big bellies and a thin throat and never can get enough of anything. In one popular image, the gaki sit on a table full of delicious food. But having too long chopsticks to eat, and being too consumed with satisfying their own desires, they won’t feed each other and eventually all stay hungry.

There is a Buddhist ceremony (around O-bon) which is called Segaki  (feeding the hungry ghosts). Maybe that’s why there are not so many hungry ghosts around in Japan, steeling your things?

Looking back to my ten days journey from Kyoto to Sendai, there was one specific characteristic amongst the people I have met, which impressed me most: I did not see or talk to even one single Japanese, who complained or seemed to have given up. The judgement of the disaster and the actual and potential after-effects of the collapsed power plants in Fukushima differed widely, but the spirit of going on was common amongst everyone.

It was out of question! Giving up and complaining is not an option!

When we practice Zazen, I am confident, we can develop a similar spirit of never giving up.

Living day by day, practising day by day, regardless of good or bad circumstances, regardless of being tired or not, regardless of having time or not, regardless of feeling pain or not … and not even thinking, that this is something special, something beyond our ordinary daily life, this is the meaning of our Zen practice.

In the early days of the common use of the internet, even before the http protocol was defined, we had a usenet news-reader called “nn” (which is still around today). The “nn” stands for “no news is good news”, I always liked that name.

So often we aim for the special, the extraordinary, the outstanding, the enlightened … but in fact, going on day by day, as if nothing special happened, no news to report, is the way of Zen!

My visit to Sendai today was absolutely normal, I was amazed in which speed the city recovered to a seemingly ordinary daily life. The uninformed visitor could even be mistaken that nothing had happened on March 11th.

There is such a strength in “daily life”, and it requires so much endurance, power and bravery to keep it up or restore it in spite of all misfortunes and circumstances. But it is exactly this, I believe, which makes it possible for us to live together as a social community, as human beings.

Is it safe? Isn’t it dangerous? Isn’t it mad?

These questions I heard a lot after I announced my plans to go to Tokyo and Sendai end of May. The Shinkansen to Sendai I will board tomorrow passes the collapsed reactors in Fukushima by just 40 km distance.

As a physicist I can judge how few is known about the current situation, and which scenarios can currently not be excluded to happen. I am not on a suicidal mission with eyes closed, but it is not “safe”. Although, the complications and risks of travelling north are much different compared to 4 or 6 weeks before!

I have friends and colleagues in Tokyo and Sendai. Millions of people are living in that area. Can we just abandon them, send money or good wishes or wise suggestions by e-mail, what to do? Or sit at home or in the far away and safe Kyoto and just pray for them? How would you feel?

Coming with your own body, in spite of danger or fear. Be there in person. That is the best we can do! Always!

Talking about Zen can be nice at times. But better come, in person, and let’s practice first! Only if your body comes, and not just your words, we can truly understand each other’s heart!

—

P.S.: You might also want to read Shodo Harada Roshi’s moving report A visit to Sendai following the Tsunami written shortly after the disaster happened.

There are many many temples here in Japan, as much (or maybe even more) than churches in Europe. A central building of a temple is the Butsuden, the hall with a Buddha statue.

When I visit a temple and stand at the gate outside the Butsuden, facing the Buddha, or when I enter or leave the Zendo, I bow to Buddha.

This, I do not because I believe in any kind of mysticism or some religious doctrine, which tells me to do so.

I don’t think that junk of stone or wood displaying a sitting Indian looking person is anyhow special or holy. I am not so sure of the concept of “holiness” anyway, especially not of holy objects …

When I bow to Buddha, I bow to all my “spiritual ancestors”, the long long long line of countless human beings, who devoted their life to study, develop and transmit, what we know as “Buddhism” and as “Zen” today.

I feel very grateful towards them, I want to thank all of them! And for a moment, when I bow, I hold on and remember to not take for granted, that we can sit Zazen every day.

I love Kyoto, and as usual, I feel very sad the evening before I have to leave. I guess, with the years and during my many visits, I began to love it too much.

Too much, even of something good, is not so good any more! I love eating as well, but if I don’t stay 20% hungry after each meal, I will gain weight quickly. Eating too much is also not healthy, of course. Too much, regardless if too much of good or bad, can kick you out of balance and drag you away, physically and emotionally.

Though, if this was the end of the story, it would be a bit disappointing moral teaching today …

I am quite sure, that the experience of eating too much, drinking too much and loving too much has to be made! So I encourage you, if you feel like going for it, do all this, beyond all limits!

If you hold back and restrict yourself all your life, maybe because you just believe in rules, or what someone told you, or because you are simply too shy to give it a try, inside yourself, there will always remain this longing for the better, regardless how much you already have.

Once you enjoyed the perfect food and the perfect love and the perfect happiness, it feels like you arrived, you finally reached your destiny – and for a short moment, this longing is over! Waking up after the first night with your perfect love, you feel so light and free and just there, not want to be anywhere else on earth, not missing anything. Just here, right now, it is good!

But it won’t last forever. And from the day it is gone, you will miss it too much. You just remember the ultimate moment of happiness you once enjoyed, where nothing was missing, and you feel terribly sad.

If you are lucky, and if you don’t lock your sadness away or jump to the next climax of an ultimate achievement (and this is important, and to endure this, practising Zazen is a very good support!), you might eventually realise, that it is just the end of longing for something or someone, which once made you so ultimately happy, and not the person or the thing you believed to possess!

And from then on, the things are just right, as they are …

So, I have to leave Kyoto tomorrow … and it is just good! Also, the rainy season started today (though, Kyoto is too beautiful in the rain)!

Today, I visited the Kurama-yama, a mystic and beautiful place in the hills north of Kyoto. It is one of my favourite trips outside the city, and I try to go there every time I visit Kyoto.

What means mystic place? Do I hang on some pagan beliefs, or any, at all?

In Japan, I love visiting the Shinto shrines (not all of them, that is…), and especially those surrounded by  old trees, hidden away in nature, on the hillside or in a forest.

I do not much care about who or what is enshrined and why. Sometimes even the Japanese devotees don’t know, I have heard. Let aside some anthropologic interests, I don’t need to know about this god or that, causing this effect or the other after listening to your prayers … washing my hands at the basin, bowing and clapping is for me expressing my gratitude to the nature, to the many things around me, which support our life, although they are beyond our understanding. It is the acceptance of my limited brain, of an existence beyond words, and maybe my expression of love for the nature…

Does that contradict Zen? No! I believe, Zen can integrate any religion, which respects other human beings and the nature, which is non-aggressive and does not contradict the idea of a happy life for all.

Don’t worry if you feel a conflict between your Zen-practice and your religion! Doing Zazen will help you to understand yourself and your religion much better!

You don’t have to give up your beliefs before coming to my Dojo, just don’t let them disturb your Zazen! No problem, since you now know I am sometimes clapping hands in front of old trees …