Chichibu yo-matsuri / Zen Ethos

Those are the Photos I found in a photo blog Tokyobling.

Tokyobling is reporting from Japan very actively with quite vivid nice photos

and those are from Chichibu yo-matsuri (秩父夜祭) of Saitama (埼玉) =

next north to Tokyo.

Virtually all the traditional festival in Japan is for the local Shinto God.

Hence, Chichibu Yo-matsri is for the Guardian God / Chichibu Daimyojin (秩父大明神) who

said to be the abater of the wolf in Chichibu mountain.

Because of the Wolf God, the festival held in the night, hence Yo-matsuri

( yo or yoru mean night)

Being as a Mountain God, Chichibu Daimyojin is the guardian of the mountain people /

Matagi (またぎ) and Sanka (山窩) all over Japan, who’s occupation was hunting and

wood-crafts, and their descendants too. (Matagi and Sanka remained only in the legend now

still, all the shoe makers and leather crafts men said to be originated from the Yoshino (吉野)

mountain, behind the Nara city.  As they’ve been the supplier of the foot-ware and the parts

of armories to the Nobles and Samurai alike thousand of years as a tradition.

When I did (or helped) a research of the Industrial Sociology study, I met a group of the

construction workers who was the Sanka from Chichibu mountain.   In the site, they live

according to their religion, wearing their own white uniform and praying their God everyday

= they had their own shrine of the Chichibu Daimyojin brought with them ! )

In this stone-age, I have no idea how many people is worshiping

Chichibu Daimyojin now, still in the photographs, I found pretty strong Ethos

is clearly remaining and prevailing.

See the head band of the grandfather holding a baby in the photo.

Head-band was extremely neatly tied.  —–Then, see the other’s.   Not as neat as the

grandfather, still, all of them tied their band in the same style. = All the people sharing the

same Ethos therefore even a cheeky computer-gamer start to behave in a discipline of a

traditional young man without him even noticing it.  (It’s a spirit of the Matsuri.  🙂 )

(Hence, Carl Jung called it Collective Unconsciousness)

[]

To tie a head-band in THE occasion, is a strong Japanese tradition.

It is not only tie a hair or stop the sweat getting to eyes, it is to tie the MIND.

For a determination or concentration of the SELF, but also to declare or display it to others.

We tie a head-band with the Determination to go with the fate.

In this reason, even the Sward Master Musashi Miyamoto (said to be) tied

a head-band when he fought with his arch rival Kojiro Sasaki. (and Musashi won)

Because of its Samurai and Military connotation, western people has a kind of fear toward

Japanese tie their head-band though, it is not so far from a Hindu people tie a string on

their wrist. —– Normally, a head-band was tied on one’s back to prevent its loose-end

sagging down to block eyes.   So that, tie it up on front may be a Shinto tradition

( in a Matsuri, it is always on front) though, what grandfather’s head-band impressed me

was, its neatness.    Functionally, it may be the same though, as it got to be tied in anyway,

do the better.   It wouldn’t take more than extra one minute yet the difference is clear.

This is the mind set of the Zen.  (Zen is a Mind-set to concentrate and DO the

task better, what ever it may occur in the Life, its mean any body’s any Life,

regardless whether it was a Shinto practice or Christian’s job.

DO the things better and achieve better Life is the Universal Aim of the man.

This is the reason why Zen was often regarded to be Atheist or Non-religion.)

(And this is the reason why Japanese products were often over quality and hard to

compete with cheap copy in its price.  😀 )

[]

What so ever the life, you live and die.   In anyway, it would be more or

less the same.   STILL, aiming the better and do the best, regardless whether

it makes any difference or not, is the way of the Zen.   DO it and DO the BEST.

(down to the minute details, keep DOING its best, this Mind-set is the matter,

not necessary the result, since it is a Pathway to aim the goal =

but not the goal itself — goal / Nirvana would BE given by the Fate or Dharma)

By doing so, you wouldn’t loose a bit.   Since, you couldn’t possibly loose anything because,

you yourself is not exists in the first place.   Hence, you don’t need to afraid of ANYTHING,

even a death. The person lives here isn’t you but the Darma (Rule of the Universe),

hence you can live with full confidence to be the Dharma or a part of it.

This is what [Selfless] really mean (not sacrifice the self  by own idea) and What

Lord Buddha taught. —– or What he revealed,  What the Dharma is.

___/\___

[]

THING(S) — 物から事へ

In Japan, a buzzword used over there in these days seems to be

“ The things to Have” to “the Things to Do” = ( 物から事へ ) as I’ve seen many times

in the opinions of many columnists or writers. —– It sounds well observed, well said though,

wait a moment, in reality, this is only a superficial yet another buzzword to the mass,

who wants to be seen cleverer.

[]

On the beginning, the idea was conceived that “Unlike a function, fixed in a

device, the Apps in the latest gadget would be chosen and used by a consumer

= this is the fundamental change of the character to be a device = device

which is [A THING to be] to [A MATTER what to DO with].

To change a consumer as a mere passive user to active Doer.

—– IS IT ?

[]

In reality, this is yet another sales drive of the manufacturer. = Just a buzzword.

Instead to sell a device with the designated, pre-planed function, but selling additional

so-called App is to save a cost to invent and develop the function by themselves but taking

them from the clever developers all over the world.

Hence, such as iPhone can sell App from their App shop, creating even more profit without

spending their developing cost.

And giving a false impression to the user that they are the commander and a

user to use the device which has unique combination of the Apps.

[]

A Thing, which got value in  itself is a precious metal or precious stone, otherwise

something with sentimental, religious value,  which is in fact a value in the mind.

Other than those, everything else are related to our action, what we do with it.

A stone can drive you to throw it, or use it to crack a nut (even chimpanzee does 🙂 )

Even with a mono-functioned Sound-recorder, some are using it to record music, others

using it for news report. What has been recorded, and its variation is never the same to any

other device.   The evidence of what the one DID, a reflection of one’s life.

The matter is not to have a device but what to DO with it. = the situation is always

the same, not happen today in Japan.   And what caused its “What” is all came from one’s

mind-set.

[]

If any changes in the mass tendency in Japan exists, it was not caused by the change of their

philosophy, but simply they got one already (market has been saturated) or

no more spare money left in their pocket.   As simple as that.   😀

And the simple answer is, whether have or have not, if want to DO, JUST DO.

[]

YOU or Potato ?

Have you ever seen a bean or maze seed dropped to the garden, sprout.

Or did you ever planted vegetable such as potato, even a carrot in a soil and see them

shoot up. — Yes they are alive in deed.   Still, we do fly, boiled alive and eat them.

Don’t make an excuse, they don’t have a sense, intelligence or feel pain = who knows.

(Have you ever been a Potato to make a first-hand report of being cooked alive. 😀 )

[]

We are all living on a margin of thin blue line of compromise and

dependency.  We are just be here on borrowed time on probation.

So, don’t preach others with smug face, for conservation or environment what so ever.

= (Before preach, get rid of your cotton pants which was made by forcibly cultivated,

harvested and processed cotton flower,  and stop eating vegetable which was grown for

money in a field where tree has been uprooted. )  = Guilty party keeps mouth shat  😀

In other words, there couldn’t be any quiet peaceful life = life is inherently noisy and

filled with all sorts of bothersome trouble.  That’s what the life in Samsara is.

[]

Zen wouldn’t make you noble.

Zen teach you how to cut onion, potato (not mention Lemon :-)) efficiently without any

hesitation or wobble.  (So does to do the business.  Make you Just Do It.  🙂 )

And the Buddhism teachs you who you are = no different from a potato, yet still very

unique one.   (I didn’t say you ARE Potato if not very close — a man of half potato must

be genetically very very unique = I never seen one though.  :-D)

Therefore, Buddhism makes you absolutely humble and absolutely confident to be YOU.

(as one of guilty party which is natural.)  No one is perfect or innocent = What’s wrong?

Wrong is, to imagine you are right, while wearing cotton pants and live in this world

still believing that you are right,  is only in your imagination which is called delusion. 

—– By the way, I didn’t say if it was a sheen nylon French-nicker, it would be OK,

though I don’t mind to see one.  (As I’m one of the guilty)    Ha ha ha  😀

(To live in Samsara is heavy enough, yet still, how heavy unnecessary load called Pretense we are carrying.

Still, some people preaching, wearing a mask of Pretense is they called Decency, and keep Pretending it  😀 ))

Let all those heavy load to go, is what Buddhists call  [Enlightenment] !

(Its mean, if you are a Potato, DO live a life of proud POTATO

IS the Enlightenment ! ! !

= Even a Potato can get Enlightenment,

why not an ordinary man on the street.

___/\___

[]

Hut Albireo in YASHIGA-MINE

Gosh, I found the Web-site and a photo of the Hut Albireo （八子ヶ峰ヒュッテ，アルビレオ）

(When I searched in English before, I couldn’t find —– I got Japanese typing program only few years ago )

Hut Albireo (its name from a star in the Cygnus )  was a sister Hut of a mountain shelter Takami-ishi Goya (高見石小屋) in Kita-Yatsu-ga-take（北八ヶ岳）, in japan.

—– (Until now I didn’t reveal the name of the mountain shelter I talked, because of my stories often goes too far, I thought, unless the people can verify it with the first-hand independent source, I didn’t like to do name-dropping).

[]Both Takami-ishi Goya and Hut Albireo were originally built by Mr. Satta but later they were taken over by the another hotel, Honzawa-Onsen.  And the Hut Albireo was bought by one of keeper, Mr.Kaji who was the chief volunteer of us.  In fact it was in a financial mess  we keepers were involved in a nightmare as Mr.Satta lost a lots of money in betting.   (Not very mountain like peaceful stories  🙂 )

( So, I learned a man’s life’s up and down entwined with a silly money affair, rather early stages of my life, fortunately or unfortunately. —– Since I hate money and gamble  :-D)

[] To build the Hut Albireo, we keepers were also worked hard from digging the ground works, to carry-up the building materials  (all worked for free though  😀 )  —– coming to the age of stock takings of the life, and looking back to those life I spent in the mountain (from 15 years to 27 years), I convinced that it formed my base of  Zen Buddhism.

In fact, I’ve learned the Buddhism in hardest way in the harshest condition   😀 After all, the matter is just do the work regardless even if it is for others. =  No Ego required.  So, I’m very grateful I did it.  Ha ha ha  😀  —– (Such as a work in a building site in Okinawa while I was a drifter, the work in 30 m high was not too high for a rock climber, and the work was paid ! = In comparison to the unpaid work, such as carrying  the 50 kg of fire log 20 times everyday (its mean one ton everyday and continued one week ) any other work is easier =  who complains =only thankful to be alive = this must be the best lesson and the contemplation for one’s life.  Ha ha ha  😀 )

[] So that, to find the Hut Albireo is still there, and the same owner Mr.Kaji is still alive, was the greatest news to me.  (He was the keeper who carried 15 ton of log together every year. — the question is whether he became a Zen Buddhist or not  ? ) = I need to phone him ! —– Since then, what I found through phone was a bit spooky story that the volunteers, worked together with us (me and Mr.Kaji) around the same time, me and Mr.Kaji are the only surviving member now = rest of 5 were all dead.  What ? ? ? —– (I don’t miss them. Any how they didn’t work for cutting log, or carrying up the food staff = all the heavy work. — They did just disappeared.  😀 )

( Incidentally, when I had my wedding, the Ceremony was conducted in the Shinto Shirline  Suwa-taisha (諏訪大社) and we had wedding party in this very Hut = it was my biggest folly of my whole life.   😀 ) 

［］

Foreign Notion

 —————-          — Tsurugi-dake 剱岳（富山県) (2999 m high)in Winter.

Among the old members of our Alpine Club, since one of member lost 4 of her friends in

avalanche in the Tsurugi mountain —– some Email conversation has been taking place.

In there, famous words of George Mallory = “Why you go to mountain ?”

“ Because it’s there” quoted again.

Though, the nuance in Japanese is slightly different. = It has been treated somewhat

special philosophical words   🙂

[]

—– If there is a field near house, kids or whoever walk into the field. If a river running,

kids or adults alike may jump into and have a fun, swim or even fishing.

—– Is it anything special ? = Mallory meant exactly the same. He meant,

it is nothing special even goes to mountain is just another activity of the

daily life = why not   🙂

But, when it was translated into Japanese “何故なら,山がそこに在るからだ/ Naze-nara,

Yama ga soko-ni arukara da” it started to have (or misunderstood) something special.

(One of the reason was, as the translator configured the words in formal “Translation style”

and no Japanese says like it in a casual conversation = more likely they say

“Datte, soko-ni aru ja nai ?” or “Soko-ni arukara sa”

—– from its style and a heavy connotation (because, Mallory was a famous man = not

a man on the street) the people took “It should have something heavy extra meaning” 😀

[]

When I read the English translation of [Heart Mantra] in the first time, it

literally astonished me how it was simple and plain.

No ghost, no mambo-jumbo left there at all. —– In certain extent,

Buddhism seemed to have lost its mythical connotation to me.

Japanese read Buddhist’s mantras in Chinese written form (with a lots of unfamiliar

complicated characters :-)) therefore the word itself sound literally foreign, not

mention the vagueness of its meanings => giving very mythical connotation.

[]

The situation is the same in most of the foreign cultures, even in a cooking.

= Western people complains, when Japanese boils pasta, it was over boiled to too soft.

In the same time, eastern people complains “Why westerner cook noodle so soft and

make it soggy” —– as they didn’t know what it should be in the original form, they

tend to think “If it was still raw, it must be awful, so that it is safer to cook longer”

and end-up eating quite unlikely food   😀 

Mimic the action is easy though, to know where to stop the action needs

to be grown-up in its culture. 

(I’ve learned this while clapping the hand in the Flamenco-dance Music  😀 )

[]

On the time of Lord Buddha, I don’t think the most of his followers were literate. And

Lord Buddha didn’t teach them in sophisticated Sanskrit but in colloquial Pari.

And, I don’t think it was a complicated philosophical or mythical thought but more likely

plain wisdom in the daily life. —– it’s mean, when the teachings were written down

after 200 years lapse, it is easy to guess, the teachings were much more formalized and

glorified by the person who were well educated (hence familiar with Sanskrit = Vedic

notions) while following the Sanskrit literature and its notions as a model.

This must be the reason why even in the earliest scriptures still having many

contradictory descriptions especially in the point,

Lord Buddha has denied the existence of the perpetual soul (Atman in Vedic belief) why

the past or future life exists = Mix-up with Brahmanism (Hindu) occurred in very early stage.

[]

It happens even within the same culture, it would be inevitable between foreign culture.

To drink a tea with different mix of formula, such as in India, garlic in a tea believed to be

good to cure the cold.   Chinese treat the tea as a herbal drink, though to make it as a level

of Ceremony seems to be an over-boiled pasta 😀

So, I wouldn’t go to the idea if Mallory believed that the mountain has

a holy spirit.—– “It’s just there” 

(The reason why the Buddhists treat the Dharma mythical is because

the most of it is unknowable and invisible to our humble eyes.)

___/\___

[]

Apocalypse ? —– What Apocalypse ?

According to a kind of interpretation of Mayan Calendar, last Saturday, 21st of December suppose

to be the end of the world !  —– How exciting !    If it happens, the most spectacular scene must be

seen  on the landscape of sky-scrapers = so, I went to the City.  In fact, I went there together with

another video artist,  Funki Porcini and Tallbastard. —– Funki needed to shoot the night building

whether it is in ruin or collapsing on front of the eyes, otherwise just standing as usual  😀 

And while he was shooting, I cricked few pictures.

The top photo,  Snowdrops was the kind,  I least expected to find here.  —– But, expecting only to

see them in a kind of nature, might be just an arrogance of the mankind = for them,  like a rocky

mountain and the thin soil on the rock = city-scape can be just another nature for them. 

As I didn’t expected,  likewise, people may not noticed this flower = hence never disturbed her =

being left her own,  Snowdrops could thrive !!!  ( This is what the Nature is. = It’s the Dharma )

—– It seems,  the world has survived intact and the Xmas is coming yet again  😀  

So, to everybody who is going to celebrate it,  “Merry Xmas”  🙂

—– For me though,  a matter, winter solstice has past,  was  much more significant,  as

the sun is coming back !  = It’s getting brighter  🙂

[]

Life-Form ???

Chinese name of this, is Sea-zi or Shi-zi.   And it has glorious Latin name Diospyros.

So, how you guess what are they ? 

(This time, they are not plastic, in fact, they are pretty god to eat as well   😀 )

[]

Blue Wall — (By Pinhole and Normal Lens)

This photo above was taken by the Double-density Pinhole.

But those photos were taken by normal 100mm lens.

What for ? —– don’t ask.   They are just photos.

[]

How Buddhism has survived ? / アビダルマを読む？ エッ，マジ？

It was a real history, once there was a time, the Study of the

Abidharma Mantra was the main task of the Buddhist.

If you open and read few pages of such as Abidharma Kosa, you will see the trouble if

anyone has to study those. = they are incredibly complicated, laborious and endless

description of all sorts of definition or the relation of each phenomenon, existences

= which was purported to be the analysis and elucidated structure of the Dharma.

[]

I think, and you can easily see, they were not what

Lord Buddha taught. —– Imagine, if it was taught by him, soon he would see, half of the

disciples are sleeping. = No such non-appetizing or boring teachings were ever given, as

Lord Buddha was not such idiot.

And does anybody think, is any essence or even hint of Buddhism were written in there?

= So, how come, how the tradition or essence of the teachings were

not lost through that period?

—– The secret was hidden in the situation itself.

= If you were a monk then, you were forced to study it.

You got to have strong will to follow the Buddhism.   But if you were having strong Ego, you

might be just run away from the monastery. = in another words, if anybody survived its hell,

it was a person having strong will to serve Buddhism but abandon to have any Ego.

Repeatedly read the same book of Abidharma again and again, you must have memorized

everything hence able to recite all the passages = mouth can move automatic and recite the

words though, the Emotion and the Mind is no longer there = NO THINKING.

[]

Our Brain filter out the same signal. If the same signal is coming again and

again, the threshold of the perception became much higher and it will be

processed without involving any Emotion.

Like the same wall on the street, you wouldn’t pay attention twice = you can see it’s still

there = So What ? = Once you know it has no significance (not special or impose

any danger), the visual signal would be ignored.   It is the same to a radio CM. = even if

you heard it 100 times, you may not remember what it was saying, because it has no

significance or took your attention with interest = it mean, it didn’t take interest of your

Emotion or no longer appearing to your Emotion.

= all those signal / information became transparent = doesn’t trigger any thinking.

[]

= So, the Study of Abidarma Mantra was not what written in there but it was a training

to get rid of the Ego and eliminate the Thinking ( = reach to Mushin).

= this is what all about the Buddhism study needed.

It’s mean, DESPITE of Abidharma, Buddhism tradition was continued. 😀

( In case, if you like and enjoy reading it —– M m m ? Who the hell you are :-D)

___/\___   😀

[]

仏教２５００年の歴史の中にはアビダルマ経が教義の主流であった時代が有ます。

パラパラ数頁を読めばすぐ解る事ですが，とにかくしちめんどくさい事がびっちり延々と書かれている。

誰が見ても明らかですがこんな解りにくく退屈なものを

釈尊が延々と説いたとは考えられない。ほんの数例が喩えとして説かれたと言うのがいい所で，延々とやったら

さすがの直弟子ですら居眠りに落ちていたでしょう。

これが全ての存在物，事象それぞれとその関係（因果／縁）の定義で,これがダルマの解明であるという訳ですが

バラしたカメラ部品全ての説明を受けたからといってカメラは元より写真が何かはまるで解らないというのと

同じで,アビダルマ経の全てを読んでも仏教が何であるかは全く解らない。

＝逆に言えば，読んでも足しにならないものを読む事が 主流であった時代を経て来ながら，

どうやって仏教の教えが失なわれる事なく，綿々と受継がれて来たのかと言う疑問が出て来ます。

［］

この答はその当時の現場の情況を思い浮べてみると解ります。

僧院に入った若い弟子は何が何んでもこのアビダルマ経を学ばざるを得なかった

＝無条件に受入れるしか無くエゴの入り込む余地は無い。さもなければ寺を離れる以外に道は無かった。

＝つまり寺に残るのは苛酷な修行に耐えてでも仏に仕えようという強靭な意志と経文をマスターできる頭を持ち

 ながら, しかもエゴ／自我を消滅できた少数のエリートであったという訳です。

それに加え，冗長な経文をマスターするには何千回も繰返して読む必要が有り,最後には全てを暗唱できる

ようになっていたでしょう。

人間の脳は繰返し入って来る同ー刺激（信号）に対しては刺激の閾値が高くなり，それを感情抜きで

機械的に処理するようになります。

見慣れた物や風景はそこに在るのが見えていても全く注意を引かない（思考に結びつかない）事と同様の

現象で， 経文を唱えるにも頭はほとんど無意識のまま口は自動的に動いて唱えられるようになります。

これは禅で言う［無心］に他なりません。

［］

つまり，アビダルマ経を学ぶという事には，経文の内容の問題ではなく，それを学ぶ実践の過程，

その派生効果の中に仏教の核心（無私，無心への到達）が隠されていたという事です。

（もちろんアビダルマ経は仏教用語の用法やその定義を明確にしたという意味でその後の経典作者や

仏教学者に とっての聖典でもありますが－－－アタシャ苦手だね）（笑）

___/\___

［］

Sea Creature ? ? ?

M m m m —– What ? ? ?   You may think.   What are they ?

Yes.  Those photos are genuine.    Just straight close-up shot.    No Photo shop.   🙂

– – – – – – – – –  How do you see them ?

[]