Rev. Junpu Kuroda (Hojosan)

 

Rev. Junyu Kuroda and Tenkei Roshi,Uithuizen Feb 15, 2004

Talk given by Hojosan Feb 14 2004

 

Tokyo, August 23, 2000

 

statue in the Zen River Dojo, Zoetermeer, The Netherlands, September 13, 2001.

 

Dear Friends,

The beautiful Buddha statue that Hojo-san has donated so generously to our future center is on its way to Holland. It's a powerful image. Somewhere on the ocean sails a ship with this precious cargo in its hull. It will probably arrive just before we do. Which seems very appropriate. Buddha first. Looking for a home...

Love and Gassho

Tenkei

 

      

"Before you die, please live!"

Rev. Junpu " Hojosan" Kuroda at Lake Hakone, Japan, Summer 2000

It is a beautiful spring evening and I am sitting in our six-tatami-mat room overlooking the graveyard of the temple next door. Kirigaya-ji has its own graveyard on the other side of the building. Every tombstone has at the back a rack for long wooden lats, stacked vertically, with inscriptions for the deceased. It is a little windy and every now and then these lats rattle as if rain is pouring down. Besides that it is surprisingly quiet, considering this is central Tokyo. We live simply but very nicely in a separate part of the temple. We really share the lives of Hojo-san and his family here, but we do have some privacy and can even make our own coffee. Hojo-san is a riot with a heart of gold and we have developed a real connection with him since we arrived. He is the brother who was closest to Maezumi Roshi, so it is wonderful we get along so well. Our visit to Japan turns out to be a sort of pilgrimage to the life of our direct ancestor and through him to the tradition of Buddhism. We even live in the house where Maezumi Roshi died. Our days are different to anything we have encountered before though and some adjustment was definitely required. Compare it to driving from Mount Fuji to Tokyo, something I had to face recently. The Japanese, like the British, favor the left side of the road, traffic signs are often just Chinese characters,  most streets in Tokyo have no name, and driving space in general is not enough to swing a cat. How is that for living in the unknown.  We start to manage to be of some help to Hojo-san during services at Kirigaya-ji and elsewhere. And after every memorial service there are the dinners with the family of the deceased. Socializing is a big part of the priesthood profession and two foreign monks joining this ritual is always good subject matter. We also do lots of little outings. Our latest adventures included a big Jukai ceremony by the Zenji in Soji-ji that lasted several days, a visit to Kyushu (the southern island) and the grand opening of a brand-new temple a few hours away from here. To start with the last one, that temple was quite a work of art. The whole construction freshly carved out of rare hardwood. Apparently it was build with a donation of twenty million dollars from the president of Pachinko ( Slot machines) . We actually shook hands with him. As usual with Hojo-san, we arrived a little late and a big crowd was waiting for the Zenji to make his appearance. Everyone looks a little surprised when they see it's just us. But Hojo-san gets out of the car with great gusto and pulls Tammy and me over to the president to introduce us elaborately. He seems to know everyone that is important and loves to break protocols. Later we rush into the Zenji's room to make our bows and have a chat. A few weeks ago he called him up, which is apparently a big no-no here and we had to say hello too. Just as well my one full line of Japanese fitted the occasion...

Love and gassho,

Tenkei