Due to an erratic sleep schedule I awoke pretty early, and was able to get ready and dress to leave around 6:00AM. It was nippy, but beautiful to stroll around the area watching the city awaken. I was also able to enjoy a chocolate filled croissant before returning to the hostel around 9:00AM to have breakfast. We then officially started the day off with a stroll through the nishiki market. I was quite impressed with the nonchalant charm that each of the stalls exhumed.
After some light shopping and sightseeing we went to meet the Zen priest Isobe Yukei, (who asked to be called Kei-san), who is a priest at the Tofukuji Taikoin. We were invited into a room in the temple (of which we later learned was around 420 years old), were Kei-san introduced us to the origins of Zen and its core purpose/result, that is the act of understanding and experiencing one’s self. It was interesting to note that there was less emphasis placed on form, or a set predefined notion of knowledge to be passed down, but instead teachers share and pass the experiences they’ve garnered during their lifetime, and it turn their students pass their own experiences down once they become teachers. This establishes a lineage of experiences that are not rigidly defined. We were also introduced to two variants of conducting zazen meditation, such as assuming a half-lotus (or full if your body can manage that acrobatic position) although Kei-san highly stressed that one does not perform zazen just by maintaining a specific form, but that it is an action that requires and values your mental participation more than act of sitting.
We also received our koan, which was derived from an encounter between Bodhi Daruma and Jinko, when Jinko sought to be his student. Daruma advised Jinko to bring his unsettled kokoro to himself to be resolved. The major takeaway was how do you interpret this “self” or “kokoro” that is to be brought? I’m still grappling with this question, as one is expected to. Mostly because I’m struggling with the linguistic barrier/ definition of heart-mind, that was provided to us by Kei-san. Hopefully by the end of our trip I can provide an answer.
