How Do I Join a Zen Monastery in Japan?
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- Опубліковано 5 лип 2024
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Thank you for mentioning our monastery. Everything you say is 100% true, there is really no good reason to go to Japan rather than staying in a Western Zen monastery. Nevertheless, if someone does speak basic Japanese, is young enough to cope with the agricultural labor and wants to come for three years or more, here is the information about staying in Antaiji: antaiji.org/en/residency/
lol, they are all couch potatoes here and will be zen masters within a week of being there
The only monestary you need for Zen is your own home! Zazen is your own practice.
Marine Corps veterans are surprised by the rigor and discipline of Zen monasteries. Westerners considering applying at a Japanese Zen Monastery might like to read: The Empty Mirror, by Janwillem Van De Wetering.
True!
*side note. Even at a Zen Monastery someone can be envious of the disciple who gets to wash the master's rice bowl. People are still people.
THX FOR SHARING
I just emailed one back in 2007 and then showed up a couple months later. Best decision of my life.
Tell us more
Interesting. How did it go?
Nearest practice most people have available in the west to Zen is Aikido. Aikido warm ups are delightful.
its a good introduction.
Simply not true. There are many Zen centers, monasteries and temples in the West now. Not all of them good but nonetheless, most cities and larger towns at least have a Zen group of some sort.
Do you remember the name of the beer-drinking Zen temple? Wasn't it Rinsen-ji (林泉寺) in Tokyo? Drinking alcohol after a zazen-kai in a temple is rather uncommon, but Rinsen-ji is one such place and that is the temple I visit sometimes. There is a Zazen kai every Monday morning and Wednesday evening but Japanese fluency is required.
Toshoji in Okayama prefecture is very foreigner friendly. The Abbott speak fluent English and half the population are foreign monks. Lay people can also stay and participate in the daily schedule even though it's designated as a training monastery.
Interesting. You're the second person I've seen mention that place. I've never heard of it. Is it Soto?
It's a Soto Shu sen mon sodo, which means you will get the full Soto shumucho experience there if that's your fetish.
@@HardcoreZen I have Practiced there for 2 months. I can also confirm Tosho-ji is Soto-shu.
It is a training monastery for both Japanese and Foreigners. I believe a lot of Eorupeans go for training there.
I would like to find a place like this that trains in martial arts.is there a such place.
Hokyoji is the one in southern Minnesota :D There's also Ryumonji in Northern Iowa.
Love both!
Thank you! That's the place I was trying to think of.
A follow-up video that could be interesting is examining what leads Westerners to feel like they want to give up their modern lives and go join a monastery. I'm sure a large part is their devotion to Zen practice and wanting to deepen that. But also I'm guessing someone who arrives at that point probably feels bored or disillusioned with modern life. What would you say to someone that feels that urge to "escape" their routine?
Oh sure! There's a lot of that. Generalized escapism. But that happens everywhere. Even Japanese monasteries in Japan have to weed out people who try to escape their lives by going to a monastery. It could be a good video.
No wonder, because in my opinion the West is doomed and facing many major, catastrophic events in the near future. Nothing could be wiser than to leave the shitholes that modern cities have become, full of decay, crime and madness. Everything seems to be a complete mess of utter insanity and destruction. Everything is falling apart rapidly.
Running away from your problems is definitely not a solution because they will follow you wherever you go, it's like trying to run away from your own shadow. But I think it's quite reasonable if you want to turn your back on dysfunctional modern society's, which increasingly are resembling mental asylums full of fanatics and lunatics.
Normally I would agree that you don't have to go anywhere to practice any form of Buddhism or Zazen in particular. After all, your own life is and will always be the best teacher. The only question is whether you want to stay and live in a place that is going up in flames. Of course you could meditate and find inner peace even in the most disturbing situations, but I'm not sure I'm willing to go through such a hellish situation myself.
Maybe I'm being a bit too pessimistic about it all and overly dramatic, but I feel huge disruptive upheavals coming our way, as clearly and distinctly as you feel a punch in the face. There are simply far too many unresolved and sometimes seemingly unsolvable problems and, with the exception of a very few, most people don't even seem to suspect what a terrible avalanche is rolling towards us while they are still in a deep slumber. In my opinion, greed for profit and egocentric behavior which is solely concerned with one's own advantage and advancement at the expense of others have led humanity to the brink of destruction and everyone continues to run towards the abyss in blissful ignorance. But enough of my little rant, who knows maybe I might need more equanimity, but the situation looks quite serious and grave to me.
Hi Brad, do you have any personal experience or knowledge of Toshoji? www.toshoji.com/ I heard that if you are a teacher and want to be on the Soto registry, you have to stay there (or I assume a similar place) for at least 3 months. Not that I am a teacher, or would want that paperwork if I was, but can you speak to that?
If someone wants to join a monastary, they should try a 3 month retreat first.
Good point.
Are there really Zen monasteries here in Europe, preferably directly in Germany, where you can live and practice for a long time without paying any money? I'm a bit skeptical about this, because what I've noticed from Buddhist monasteries in Europe is that most of them are run more like a business and mainly want people as customers for expensive retreats. I could be wrong but at least that's what I've found from my internet research so far.
SogenJi in Okayama is also a temple that allows foreigners, Japanese is a pre but not a must, since there is translation there. www.onedropzen.org.
Interesting. I haven't heard of that place.
@@HardcoreZen Hi Brad, It is a Rinzai monastery, it is relatively foreign friendly and there is mostly westerners training there. Spent a couple of years there and was allowed to engage in various positions and could also go on begging rounds, a great experience. Greetings from Groningen (we met about 5 years ago when you were demonstrating your movie there).
The anecdote about the 12-pack is hilarious. LOL
Why not just join one of the thich Nan hanh monasteries lol there's a few in America
"Don't go"? But then who will bring true zen back to Japan?
GOOD point
Strangely enough, those who have been through the British private, boarding school system, have at least a slight advantage in some aspects of Japanese monastic culture. Not that I'd recommend either to be honest. I also would not recommend Zen Mountain Monastery. They are more geared towards wealthy patrons, the White Plum/Genpo types, and couldn't care less about normal people who just want to practice. Throssel Hole, in the UK on the other hand, I can wholeheartedly recommend, though celibacy for monastics is required there.
What? No fucking in a monastery? No way!
Did Nishijima Roshi ever train monastically? What was his “zen upbringing” like?
Y'know. I'm not really sure if he trained monastically. He was ordained and given dharma transmission by Renpo Niwa Roshi at Tokei-in temple in Shizuoka. But Tokei-in is a temple, not a residential monastery. I assume Nishijima Roshi must have done some sort of training at a monastery, but I never heard him speak about it. My guess would be that he did whatever the minimum requirement was. On the other hand, it is possible to be ordained and transmitted without doing any time at a monastery. So it's also possible he never lived monastically. I just don't know.
Thank you. I like that you don't know, it tells me he focused more on teaching than on giving out his credentials, which means something.
But don't you know, if you go some place foreign and exotic, every thing just magically happens. Or not. Like the man said, no matter where you go there you are. Save the plane fare and buy local.
?
The only question is WHY?
For enlightenment. Apparently in the monastery easier.
If you are shallow and have nothing interesting internally, become a western zen "expert".
That's been my path to success!
a way of looking at japanese culture is its mentally ill and i can't say my experience of western zen monasteries is any better