My time in Nagano was incredibly peaceful. I wanted to wait to write about my experience so that I could include some of the pictures I had taken which were on my SD card.
When I arrived in Nagano, it was around 7 pm and most of the shops and restaurants were closed. I walked about a kilometer and was not able to find any open restaurants. I see signs for the Zenkoji temple and decide to carry on the extra 0.5 kilometers to check it out. As I entered the main gates to the temple, I was already astonished by how grand and magnificent it was.
When I entered through the passage and came upon the temple, I was just drawn to it, which is strange because I am not a religious person. There was just something about the sight of it that invoked an overwhelming feeling of peace.
I try in vain to capture the perfect picture, so that I could look back at it years from now and see it the way that I saw it in that moment- it was just so grand and beautiful- to the point where I forget that I am completely starving!
When I eventually leave, I find an open beer garden on the way back to my hotel where I order dinner. After settling up the tab, the waitress strikes up a conversation on my way out because she notices from my Visa card that I am a Canadian. She tells me that every morning, there is a Buddhist monk ceremony that begins at sunrise (the Oasaji). Having felt a connection with this place, I look up the time of the sunrise the next morning when I return to my hotel. Seeing that it is at 5:25 a.m. I plan to be out of my hotel by 4:30 in the morning.
When I arrive at the temple, the security staff notify me that the ceremony will not actually begin until 6 a.m. ! While I wait, I decide to walk through the gardens around the temple.
It was an incredible experience watching the sunrise from the gardens. Although I could have used the extra sleep, I realize that there was no better way I could have experienced it.
As I am walking around the garden, I notice a small line of people forming in front of the temple. I am not really sure what is going on, so I also stand in the line. I am feeling a little bit self conscious about being a non believer. I wonder if the gatherers can sense the fact that I am just there for a tourist experience and if it makes them feel uncomfortable. I think it was the fact that they were all so devout which was very obvious by the way they worshiped. But in all honesty, I was drawn in for personal reasons as well. Every day that I have been on the road, I have been messaging my family so that they would know that I am okay. The evening before, my Aunt had told me that my Grandmother had visited this temple when she was alive. My “Obachan” has always been very special to me. The fact that I could experience something that was special to her, and that, although she had passed away many years ago, I was given the opportunity to see something the way that she had seen it, meant the world to me.
While standing in the uniform line, I noticed that the people around me begin to kneel. When I look over, I see a Monk walking towards the temple, an older man with two people on either side holding umbrellas- I realize that this must be the head Monk. As he walks past the lineup, he lays the rosary on each person’s head and blesses them- including mine, which means that I have now been blessed by a Buddhist Monk!
Shortly after, the service started. If you pay a small fee (500 Yen), you are permitted to enter the closed off area right behind the main altar where the Monks perform the rituals. The interesting thing about the Zenkoji temple is that it has no lineage to a particular sect, so it welcomes everybody, regardless of your religious beliefs or affiliations. And the Monks from various sects will worship together in unison.
Being a part of this experience, and being in the presence of the Monks chanting their sutras was an incredible experience. It was exceptionally beautiful and peaceful. Even though I am not pious, I always find it moving to see people united through common beliefs or a common cause. When the head Monk was done the ceremony, I followed some people into the basement of the temple (which is included in the 500 yen fee). Before entering, you are instructed to leave your hand on the wall around hip-level in order to guide you. After descending down the stairs, you enter a dark hall with low ceilings. As you continue down the passageway, the light behind you fades until you are left in complete darkness. It is a little bit frightening because you can literally not see a single thing, you are out of your element and are walking blindly through a passageway and have to maintain faith that you are going in the right direction. At one point, I was wondering if I had strayed because I took a turn and wasn’t completely confident that I had gone in the right direction. But finally, I see a light ahead of me, and it grows until I am at the foot of the stairs to bring me back up to the main altar.
The experience is supposed to symbolize rebirth. When you are dragging your hand along the wall, you will eventually come upon the “Key to Paradise” which will provide you with eternal enlightenment and salvation. Shortly after finding the key, you ascend back into the light from the darkness.
After leaving the temple, I walk over to the incense burner. For 100 yen, you purchase a bundle of incense. After throwing it into the burner, you are supposed to draw the smoke towards yourself and pray for good health and fortune. If you have been following my updates, you know that this prayer (as it pertains to good fortune) was just flat out ignored for me! haha
The Zenkoji temple was a really beautiful, special experience. If you visit, I guarantee that you will get something out of it, regardless of what you believe (if anything).