We are in lotus（May. 2024）
As I work in the fields or pull weeds in the temple grounds, a cuckoo flies over me, calling as it goes. I marvel at how skillful it is to be able to produce such a resonant sound while flying, but I can't follow it with my eyes. In the nature guide "Into the Woods" from Hokkaido, there was some photos of a flying cuckoo that I had never seen before.
According to the website, It is said that only male cuckoos call, and they do so while chasing after females. The cuckoos return to Shinshu every May to raise their children. While practicing zazen before dawn, the owl's call and the cuckoo's call overlap around 3 AM. Around 4:30, the voices of mountain doves and small birds join in, making it lively.
In Nagano prefecture, it is said that when the cuckoos start calling, it is time to plant "sasage" beans. This year, they began calling in mid-May, so, feeling a bit hurried, I planted the beans on the 20th. Since the time of Rev. Shuzan (Aoyama-roshi's aunt), who re-established this temple, we have been saving part of the harvested beans as seeds for the next year and planting them in the following spring, a tradition that has continued for over a hundred years. Even in the narrow fields, like a forehead, we plant tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplants, pumpkins, zucchinis, okra, potatoes, green onions, edamame, sasage beans, and some flowers, looking forward to the summer harvest.
Sanshin Zen Community, my teacher's temple, they also started vegetable gardening this year. There is Antaiji-style sesshin (3 or 5 days retreat with 14 hours of zazen per day) every two months, and they have three meals a day using oryoki bowls. They plan to grow the vegetables used in these meals. They are cultivating peas, daikon radish, carrots, lettuce, potatoes, cucumbers, and tomatoes, almost the same as us. The grass cut from the temple grounds is used as mulch and an excellent source of nitrogen. Some crops should be ready for harvest in time for the June sesshin. I'd love to visit my teacher's temple for a sesshin has grown stronger.
In late April, when the petals of the Nishina cherry blossoms begin to fall, sweeping the grounds becomes a daily routine. Although it may seem repetitive, what falls on the temple grounds changes slightly every day. Even with just the cherry blossoms, once the petals have finished fluttering down, the calyxes fall, followed by the husks of the fruit after a while. The Japanese grosbeaks (ikaru) peck at the flesh of the still-green fruit, break the seeds, and eat the kernels inside, leaving only the hard shells to fall. Then, after some time, the ripe, dark red fruit falls. additionally, in April, the flowers of the willows and oaks fall, and by late May, the flowers of the Chinese fringe tree and the magnolia also fall. Flowers that bloom high up are only noticed when they fall to the ground.
While sweeping, I am reminded of the sacred forest, it is said 'Utaki' in Okinawa. The place to worship covered by trees have fallen leaves not just in autumn, because Okinawa is hot all year. However, there are caretakers who clean the worship sites daily. When I offered to help during my travels, they replied, "This is my job," showing pride in their role of cleaning the worship sites.
A friend living in Miyako Island in Okinawa told me a saying passed down among the islanders: "Due to aging and depopulation, some traditional ceremonies can no longer be held, causing concern among the people. However, if places to worship are kept clean, the ceremonies will surely revive." 'Utaki' are where the gods reside. I've learned how important it is to maintain their cleanliness. While my temple grounds are too vast to tend to entirely, I make it a point to keep the approach clean, as it is a pathway where the Buddha passes, much like a shrine.
On May 24th and 25th, I visited Sōjiji, and on May 29th and 30th, I visited Eiheiji, the two head temples of the Soto Zen school, for the ceremony of Zuise. In January, I received the Dharma transmission from my teacher, and upon the completion of this Zuise ceremony, I will be officially registered as a monk in soto school.
As I still halfway along the path, it feels like a tremendous opportunity, yet at the same time, being allowed to become a monk through this auspicious connection is a deeply appreciated and joyful time for me.
Both head temples had beautifully maintained grounds, Dharma hall, rooms and corridors. While there used to be over 200 training monks in each. Now, Sōjiji has about 60, and Eiheiji even fewer. Despite this, thanks to the daily efforts of polishing corridors and stairs, as well as sweeping fallen leaves outside, we were able to conclude a truly wonderful Zuise ceremony without fail.
I've heard from my dharma friend who trained at Eiheiji that the tenzo sometimes begins preparations as early as 1 AM. in the morning. Thinking about our own ceremonial meals, which surely began preparations in the early morning, I was even more impressed by the elaborate ceremonial breakfast as shojin. To undergo such a ceremony involves the assistance of many people, and it made me reflect on whether I'm living a life worthy of receiving such rituals. I can only aspire to live each moment in a way that repays the kindness I've received, without forgetting to do so as time passes.
Returning from the two head temples to my temple in Nagano, I was greeted by the sight of rice fields after planting and the golden hues of ripening wheat, signaling the arrival of early summer. In Okinawa and Kyushu, the rainy season has begun, and the rainy season in here are coming soon. I can only pray that we won't experience the concentrated heavy rains and landslides that have occurred in recent years.
As the rainy season brings growth to the grass with each rainfall, it's now time for the main cleanup of the temple grounds.
