Meditating at Eiheiji by Carol Kavanagh

Carol Kavanagh (Tokyo)

As an English language teacher in Tokyo, I try to travel as much as I can during the school holidays. This winter break was no different. I wanted to experience something to help me escape from the intense city life that Tokyo throws at you. Deciding a temple stay in Fukui would be the perfect way to spend my Christmas, I booked an overnight temple stay at Eiheiji for Christmas night. This Buddhist temple dates back to 1244 and is a glorious hidden gem, high in the misty mountains.

It was the afternoon when I arrived on Christmas day and a pleasant, English-speaking monk greeted me. He demonstrated how I should act and meditate and how, if I looked like I was failing at this

and lacked concentration, another monk would hit me with a long stick on my shoulder. This was not for discipline but simply to encourage me to try harder. After two back-to-back zazen (lit. seated meditation) sessions, my legs were numb and my mind panicked with the realization of what it must be like to be paralyzed from the knees down. I managed to escape a stick to the shoulder, which was not the case for a poor fellow tourist—I jumped when I heard the sharp, brisk stick behind me. I sat up straighter, and put on a determined facial expression with lips pursed and eyebrows slightly furrowed, all while pretending to be fascinated by a marking on the wall in line with my eyes.

After the meditation, I received a delicious vegetarian dinner prepared by some of the one hundred and fifty practicing monks. I ate alone and said a prayer of thanks before and after my meal. In the evening, it was time for more zazen and at this stage, my legs were starting to shiver from the thoughts of being crossed for another forty minutes. I managed to struggle through the last meditation of the day and rewarded myself with a soak in the private bath. Afterwards, I was exhausted and fell into a deep sleep.

I woke up to the sound of the morning bell at 4:20 A.M. and quickly made myself look relatively decent for the meditation and morning mass. I chanted with the large gathering of monks as best I could, failing to pronounce words properly but my enthusiasm surely making up for it.

Afterwards, I was given a tour of the temple and then directed back to my room for breakfast. Tiredness hit me like a brick and I managed to take a peaceful nap before checking out at nine. I thanked the lovely monk who made my stay so welcoming, who in turn gifted me with a book on zazen as well as a small notepad. The rain was falling quietly as I walked past the 500-year-old cedar trees and down the narrow street toward my bus stop with a sense of gratitude and satisfaction.

Carol is a second-year JET teacher living in the picturesque, west side of Tokyo. She has been writing since her childhood and also spends her free time creating art and travelling around Japan during the school holidays. Her writing creations include: children’s rhyming stories, poetry, short stories and travel articles. You can check out her photography and art @carolcksensei. She is currently working on her website which will showcase her writing, art and photography, which she hopes you can check out someday.

All Photos: Carol Kavanagh