NEWS OF TRAVEL JAPAN

Look at the picture above. Is it a manga-picture? No! Is he an old western man? No! Does he look headstrong? No! He is Hakuin, a famous Japanese Zen priest of about three centuries ago, and this is his self portrait. What does he see with his big-open eyes? Anyway, it is current for a three-century-old picture. This picture is Darma, the Indian Zen creator, painted by Hakuin. Probably Dahma was the supreme enlightened person in Zen. So he must have had a calm face like a Buddhist statue, but does he have doubtful eyes? The lady in this picture is Kannon, the goddess of mercy in Buddhism, and it is said that she always works to give whatever people want by her thousand hands. Nonetheless, she looks relaxed and she seems to abandon to respond to people’s wishes. This picture was painted by Hakuin as well. The naked fat man is Hakuin, then he looks free with a smile. Why is he naked with a flower in his right hand and a bucket in his left hand? I can’t judge whether those...

What do you do when you have a wish and want invisible help, for example, to cure disease, to meet a new partner, to pass an entrance examination, to succeed in your work etc? Many Japanese people normally go to a shrine to pray for their wishes, which is easy to do. In addition, another way of praying for your wish exists. It is called the “Goma-gyo” ritual, and this ritual uses a fire, and through the ritual, drumming and mantra in Buddhism sound, so goma-gyo has a kind of spiritual atmosphere. It is deeper than praying in a shrine and it has a stronger spiritual power. If you want to know spiritual Japan or to pray for your wish, I recommend you participate in Goma-gyo. It will be undoubtedly one of the supreme experience of your journey in Japan. Goma-gyo has about a thirteen-century history and it was begun by Kukai who was the founder of Koya-san . Kukai placed the importance of the Goma-gyo ritual on Fudo-Myoo. And houses to pray to Fudo-Myoo, which are called ”O-Fudo-San”,...