Eisai: the underrated Zen master

Published March 8, 2010 Buddhism , Japan , Tendai , Zen 2 Comments

Lately, I’ve been taking quite an interest in a Buddhist monk by the name of Eisai (栄西):

Eisai, founder of Rinzai Zen

Eisai, as depicted in Wikipedia

Eisai is the founder of the Japanese Rinzai Zen sect, but compared to his protoge, Dogen, or the Chinese master Linji, he often gets little attenion. My interest in Eisai, first arose when I was in Ireland and read Tanabe’s collection of essays on Japanese religion, and later, after doing research on monastic precepts in Japan. The former book showed Eisai’s continued practice of esoteric tantric practices even after he had become a Zen master, and his efforts to restore monastic discipline at Tendai’s Mt. Hiei where he had once been a student. He argued in his famous essay, the Kōzen Gokokuron (興禅護国論) or “Treatise for Promoting Zen for the Protection of the Nation”, he argued that the moral character of the country was reflected in its clergy. In order to preserve the proper character the Vinaya, the ancient Buddhist monastic code eschewed by Tendai’s preference for the Bodhisattva precepts only, was necessary. His ideas were quickly shot down at the time, but later the Kamakura Shogunate proved more amenable. It made me realize that Eisai is a pretty complex figure, even though sources on his life are pretty scant.

This morning, while reading the Buddhist history manga that I’ve been looking at lately, it covered the life of Eisai again, and once again I was impressed with his character. Eisai is a man who stuck to his principles, and wasn’t afraid to take chances for the sake of learning the Dharma. Apparently he made two trips to Song Dynasty China, a difficult trip in those days, and had to return from the first trip after only six months, and little accomplished. Years later, on the second trip he actually tried to go to India (called tenjiku (天竺) at the time) to bring back authentic Buddhism. The border guards in China turned him away because of the Mongol invasions, and little did everyone know that Buddhism had largely collapsed by that time anyway in India due to the ascension of Hinduism, and barbarian invasions from Central Asia. It was on this second trip, that Eisai encountered by chance a Chinese monastery named Mannenji (万年寺) in Japanese (or “10,000 year temple”) and a powerful teacher named Kian Eshō (虚庵懐敞, Xūā Huái-chǎng in modern Mandarin) who taught him the Rinzai path, and granted him the right of Dharma transmission or inka when Eisai was 47 and after four years of intense training.

The grateful Eisai then returned to Japan for good and started his new Rinzai lineage in Japan in a tiny little monastery at first in Kyushu and eventually caught the attention of the new Kamakura Shogunate, who granted him the right to build a big new monastery in Kyoto called Kenninji (建仁寺).

One story in the manga I really liked, probably apocryphal or even made up just for the manga, is a story that at Kenninji, a starving man came one day begging for food. He hadn’t eaten in days and was desperate. In the story, Eisai and the community have no money1, so Eisai gives the man a small box of precious that was supposed to be used to build a new Buddha statue. The grateful man leaves, but Eisai’s disciples are shocked and fear that Eisai will be reborn in hell for his desecration of a Buddhist image. Eisai states that (assuming I read the Japanese correctly) that even if he’s reborn in Hell, then he still intends to help people no matter what.

Eisai was clearly a disciple of the Buddha who was down-to-earth and oriented toward good, earnest practice and compassion toward others. As he is quoted as saying:

“I don’t know anything about Buddhas of the past, present, or future. But I know cats exist, I know that cows exist.”

I don’t think Eisai was being flippant or anti-intellectual, as some Buddhists may believe, but simply that he tried to keep himself grounded as much as possible. If only more people in the world were like that. :)

Anyway, so this was a brief portrait of a Zen master who probably deserves more credit than he gets. Rinzai Zen is popular in the West, and we owe Eisai for his dogged determination and principled character for it.

Finally I’d like to quote part of the opening of Eisai’s Kōzen Gokokuron, as printed in Tanabe’s book:

Great indeed is the Mind! Heaven’s height is immeasurable, but Mind rises above Heaven; the earth’s depth is also unfathomable, but Mind reaches below the earth. The light of the sun and moon cannot be outdistanced, yet Mind passes beyond the light of the sun and moon. The universe is limitless, yet Mind travels beyond the universe. Though referred to as Space, or the Primal Energy that gives rise to myriad existence, it is Mind that encompasses Space and generates Primal Energy. Because of it, the sky shelters from above and the earth supports from below. Because of it, the sun and moon rotate, the four seasons change, and all things are generated. Great indeed is Mind!
…Knowledge of the Mind teaching has been made possible through the combined efforts of several generations of patriarchs in India and the followers of the teaching in China…
…Externally, the Mind teaching conforms to the position taken in Tendai teaching that the Buddha-nature, through the aid of the precepts, is always present. Internally, it joins to this the view of prajñā that awakening is attained through wisdom. This in the final analysis, is the teaching of the Zen school. (trans. Yanagida Seizan)

Namu Amida Butsu

1 In the traditional Buddhist monastic code, monks should generally never handle money, as they have taken a vow of poverty, as well as renouncing material concerns of course.

Yet another Pure Land/Zen Post

Published March 7, 2010 Buddhism , Jodo Shinshu , Jodo Shu , Zen 6 Comments

I think this is one topic I keep beating to death, but, I wanted to post a thought-provoking quotation by a Chinese Buddhist monk in the 10th century named Yǒng​-míng​ Yán​shòu​ (Yung-ming Yen-shou, 永明延寿):

Nine out of ten of those who practice Zen but do not practice the Pure Land method take wrong paths.

Without Zen but following the Pure Land Path, ten thousand practitioners of ten thousand meritorious actions are to be born (in the Pure Land).

Those who practice both Zen and the Pure Land method are the strongest, like tigers with horns.

I thought this statement was very compelling, partly because I am a Pure Land Buddhist who takes interest in Zen from time to time, but also because it reflects a more syncretic view, and not the exclusive paths usually espoused in Japanese Buddhism. In Japan, sects tend to divide into one-practice/one teaching which lead to sects such as Zen or Pure Land, but rarely both, unless you encounter older sects like Tendai, Shingon or the original Nara schools (e.g. Hossō). So sometimes when I explore the more popular Japanese sects, I feel they tend to fall into a kind of tunnel-vision that disagrees with my eclectic, scholarly nature. :) However I should add that for many the straight-forward nature is also an advantage too, so I don’t want to denigrate this approach either!

Chinese Buddhism, by contrast, tends to synthesize the various strands of Buddhism more. Take for example the commentaries of the Amitabha by Ou-I, a seventeenth century monk, which explores a well-known Pure Land text on various levels, or the late Ven. Yin-Shun’s comments on meditation and reciting Amitabha’s name. It’s interesting to see both ancient Chinese Buddhists as well as contemporary ones preaching a consistent method.

So, anyway, this is something I felt like saving for a while, and decided at last to post. Now if I could just see one of those tigers with horns, that would be cool. :D

Namu Amida Butsu

Buddhist News from Japan

Published March 5, 2010 Buddhism , Hosso , Japan , Travel 2 Comments

A couple good articles came out recently in the Asahi Shinbun newspaper I wanted to share on similar topics:

The first article deals with a recent renovation of the Hosso sect’s home temple of Kofukuji which has undergone major renovation. The highlight of this renovation is the new display of an ancient statue of a Buddhist asura or fighting spirit in Buddhist cosmology. Asuras are roughly analogous to the Titans in Greek mythology. In the same way, Devas of Buddhist/Hindu cosmology are roughly analogous to the Greek Gods and the Asuras and Devas are similarly at war.1 I was excited about this as I plan to go to Japan next month, and I am very eager to visit Nara and both the temples of Todaiji and Kofukuji. My decision to visit Kofukuji came after reading about Yogacara Buddhism in a book written by Rev. Tagawa, the abbot of Kofukuji.

Speaking of Todaiji temple, they are celebrating the annual Fire and Water Rite known as shuni-e (修二会), according to the other article. Shunie is probably one of the oldest Buddhist rites still practiced in Japan, though it’s almost entirely unknown int he West. I learned about it only from my own research in Professor Abe’s book about early Japanese Buddhism, which I used in turn to write the Wikipedia article almost from scratch (sadly it’s a terse article). The fire and water rites are part of an elaborate repentance ceremony devoted toward Kannon Bodhisattva, and also features a lot of Shinto elements as well due to the legend of the Wakasa Well. The Well is where water is drawn every year to make offerings to Kannon Bodhisattva, and was said to be a gift from a Shinto kami who had been late to attend a meeting. In penance, he split a rock in two to provide water for the ceremony.2 I would love to attend the Shunie ceremony just once in my life, as so much tradition from early Nara Buddhism has been preserved, but obviously this year I will be coming to Japan a bit late. Maybe next time.

Anyways, enjoy!

Namu Amida Butsu

P.S. I was tempted to title this post “news from the motherland” as “motherland” is a joke I often tease my wife with since she’s from there, and she married someone fascinated by the culture. Frankly it just sounded better than the more dry “Buddhist News from Japan”, but then I realized no one would get the joke but me. Inside jokes are stupid anyway.

1 Also, no, the Buddha is not a god. In fact, being reborn as a deva, asura or whatever, despite having some advantages over humans, is still seen as problematic because one’s lifespan, while very long, is still limited, and divine beings are still subject to all the other conditions of life: dissatisfaction, stress, etc. Even the gods must die, in other words, and usually they are reborn as something lower because there’s nowhere “upward” to go anymore. Buddhism seeks to go beyond the endless cycle of rebirth to something beyond description.

2 Yet another fascinating example of how Buddhism and Shinto blend together in Japanese culture.

Hinamatsuri 2010

Published March 3, 2010 Japan 2 Comments

This post was inspired by an article on Asahi Shimbun. March 3rd marks an important holiday in Japan to little girls everywhere, including my little girl since her mother’s side is Japanese: Girl’s Day or Hinamatsuri. The word “hina” (雛) means princess or empress, while matsuri (祭り) is a festival. The origin of Hinamatsuri and our doll display at home are covered in another post from last year, so I will not rehash these again. However, I did take a nice picture of a doll-display at the local Japanese import store here in Seattle, Uwajimaya, I wanted to pass along (taken by cell phone camera, apologies for the lack of quality):

Hinamatsuri at Uwajimaya

Anyway, I wanted to talk about the article, which I thought was a nice piece on what happens to the dolls the rest of the year. Speaking from experience, our little Emperor doll and Empress doll spend most of the year in nicely insulated boxes, and have travelled three continents (Asia, Europe and North America), but their life must be dull in those boxes, so as I read the article I found myself tempted to take them out. I have actually seen someone at work who visited Japan display a basic doll set in their office so the article has hit upon a trend I think.

For my part, I have a big interest in all things relates to the Heian Period and earlier Nara Period, as evinced in my writings on Lady Murasaki’s diary, so these doll sets with their dress and imagery of an ancient Imperial wedding from that bygone era really fascinate me. Last Wednesday night, I put our more humble doll-display at home:1

Hinamatsuri 2010 at home

I admit it’s a labor of love2 I do each year, and I am always a bit loathe to take it back down, but tradition is tradition, and I want to ensure my little girl has a nice, peaceful marriage when she gets older. I’d leave the display out all year, but it’s still nice to enjoy it at least for the upcoming “Peach Festival” better known now as Girl’s Day.

Happy Girl’s Day!

Update: I found a good article here on the Asahi Shinbun relating to a certain tradition in Kyoto for Girl’s Day involving dolls floated down the river called nagashibina (流しびな). I was only dimly aware of this myself.

1 Last year’s photos had some parts missing as we lived in Ireland and some parts had been packed in storage by accident, rather than brought with us. This year, it’s nice to have everything back and in one piece. :)

2 And wracked nerves. Those things are pretty delicate and have lots of tiny, easy to break parts. My clumsy, fat barbarian fingers were not designed for this.

What IS the path to redemption in Buddhism?

Published March 2, 2010 Buddhism , Religion 12 Comments

Ok, this comes in response to the recent issue between Tiger Woods, Buddhism and Brit Hume’s comments about its lack of redemption. The Worst Horse has a nice piece among many taking a light-hearted approach to the subject.

What infuriates me most about this whole controversy isn’t the criticism, which is old as Buddhism itself, but the fact that so few people actually can answer the question correctly. News pundits have all weighed in on the subject, and their answers suggest they read a book or website about it, and are essentially guessing what the answer is. Buddhism is frankly a complicated religion, and the misinformation is trivializing or obscuring important aspects that Buddhists themselves know well, but may sometimes struggle to articulate.

SO, let me weigh in with scriptural information as to what redemption means in Buddhism.1

This article speaks to mostly to the Mahayana or “Northern Branch” of Buddhism found from Tibet to Japan. It does not speak to the “Southern” or Theravada branch as I am less familiar with it, however there are a lot of commonalities.

The first step of redemption in Buddhism is confession. In the Buddha’s time, numerous texts show the disciples of the Buddha confessing their faults before elders, before the community, whatever. In practical terms, even if this is not possible, then a disciple of Buddha then can even confess before an image of the Buddha or whatever devotional figure they prefer within Buddhism. The point is is to publicly acknowledge your mistakes, rather than let them fester inside you and cloud your judgment further. When making such a confession, there’s various ritualistic ways of doing this, or one can simply, earnestly acknowledge their faults and resolve not to do it again. Self-reflection and learning from the experience are also important. In Mahayana thought, this confession also has a second effect in that it may lessen the impact of negative karma later by limiting the conditions that allow it come to fruition (owing to the fact that karma, like all phenomena, is contingent and subject to change).

Karma is not a divine sort of punishment, but simply the outcome of your thoughts and actions. Like a snowball effect, or domino effect, when you think or commit unwholesome thoughts, they set things in motion that will come back to haunt you later, like a lie that you get caught with later. If you never lied, you’d have nothing like that to worry about. Even if you never get caught, the mental effect clouds your actions in the future, so it’s quite cathartic to publicly confess.

Anyway, through confession one acknowledges their misconduct, and resolves to learn from it and not do it again.

But what if people have lived a really harmful or unwholesome life? This too is covered in Buddhism. Mahayana Buddhism teaches that all beings will eventually become enlightened, even those who now detract Buddhism. No one will be “left behind” so to speak. Forgiveness and tolerance are very key points in Buddhism, as is explained in the Lotus Sutra, chapter 14:

When a son of the Buddha preaches the Law
he is at all times gentle and full of forbearance,
having pity and compassion on all,
never giving way to a negligent or a slothful mind.

However, people often create their own hells through their actions, and so in Buddhism, we teach that there are figures in Buddhism who seek to rescue beings from their suffering and help guide them along the right path. Some figures are bodhisattvas who are almost enlightened, and as part of the path to Buddhahood help out and teach fellow beings. The Buddhas likewise provide refuge for all beings. A good example of this in the Four Vows of the Bodhisattva which is a frequent part of Buddhist liturgy:

However innumerable sentient beings are, I earnestly aspire to enlighten them all.

However inexhaustible our delusions are, I earnestly aspire to extinguish them all.

However immeasurable the Buddha’s Teachings are, I earnestly aspire to comprehend them all.

However incomparable the Enlightened Mind is, I earnestly aspire to attain it by all means.

Another prominent example of salvation and redemption in Buddhism is Amitabha Buddha, who is a leading figure in Buddhism. Not a historical figure, but is expounded in many Buddhist texts. Amitabha Buddha presides over something called the Pure Land, and provides refuge for all beings even if they only recite his name. No matter what “sin” you have committed, no matter how terrible a Buddhist you are, Amitabha’s vow is for all beings. The Pure Land is a wonderful place, but it is not a heaven either, but rather a place that’s both a refuge, and a place to practice Buddhism more easily. The point though is that Amitabha’s compassion, wisdom, symbolized by “light”2 is for all beings who sincerely recite his name. Doesn’t matter if you’re gay, lesbian, straight, black, white, asian, or suffering from any shortcomings or ignorances. Amitabha Buddha’s vow is to lead all beings to the Pure Land where they can obtain rest and become Enlightened as Buddhas.

And so it even says in the Contemplation of Amitabha Buddha Sutra:

The Buddha said to Ananda and Vaidehi, “Those who attain birth [in the Pure Land] on the lowest level of the lowest grade are the sentient beings who commit such evils as the five gravest offenses, the ten evil acts and all kinds of immorality. Owing to such evil karma, the fool like this will fall into evil realms and suffer endless agony for many kalpas. When he is about to die, he may meet a good teacher, who consoles him in various ways, teaching him the wonderful Dharma and urging him to be mindful of the Buddha; but he is too tormented by pain to do so. The good teacher then advises him, ‘If you cannot concentrate on the Buddha, then you should say instead, Homage to Amitayus Buddha.’ In this way, he sincerely and continuously says ‘Homage to Amitayus Buddha’ [Na-mo-o-mi-t'o-fo] ten times. Because he calls the Buddha’s Name, with each repetition, the evil karma which he has committed during eighty kotis of kalpas [eons] of Samsara is extinguished.

Also, note the image of Amitabha Buddha looks like so:

Amitabha Buddha Steveston Temple

Amitabha Buddha image borrowed from Steveston Buddhist Temple in Canada (apologies)

One hand up in wisdom, one hand out in compassion. This is a perfect example of the Buddhist path: one not only cultivates wisdom, but develops deep compassion and kindness toward others, even those who have wronged them. Now one might say that this, what’s called “Pure Land Buddhism” isn’t real Buddhism, but in fact its a large aspect of Mahayana Buddhism and fully conforms to stock teachings such as the Four Noble Truths, the Dharma Seals, and so on.

One should also take note of the Twelfth Chapter of the Lotus Sutra. The chapter touches upon a former disciple of the Buddha named Devadatta who tried to kill the Buddha, split the community and so on. A kind of Buddhist “betrayer” in other words. And yet in this chapter, the Buddha teaches that Devadatta will find redemption and become a Buddha in the future. One cannot say this of Judas Iscariot within the context of Christianity for example.

Also, consider the example Jizo Bodhisattva, a bodhisattva figure in Mahayana Buddhism that repeatedly journeys into the Buddhist hells, among other places, and rescues beings and leads them onto the right path. His vow is to save all beings from Hell first before becoming a Buddha himself. In Western thought, Hell is a permanent place, but in Buddhism, it only exists as one place to reborn until one’s negative karma is exhausted. All beings will depart and find redemption in the end.

Still, some people will argue this stuff above isn’t real Buddhism, but rather Asian cultural accretions.3 Instead, I encourage you to do your homework and verify it yourself. I have provided many links in this blog to other, real Buddhist texts, and other resources. I am also happy to answer any further questions as well.

As the Metta Sutta states:

Think: Happy, at rest, may all beings be happy at heart. Whatever beings there may be, weak or strong, without exception, long, large, middling, short, subtle, blatant, seen and unseen, near and far, born and seeking birth: May all beings be happy at heart.

Namu Amida Butsu

P.S. Written one afternoon in haste. If it’s useful, please pass it along though. I want to help dispel confusion about what Buddhism is and isn’t.

1 Tiger, if you’re reading, please take notes.

2 Hence he is the Buddha of Infinite Light. As it is written in the Immeasurable Life Sutra:

“If, sentient beings encounter his light, their three defilements are removed; they feel tenderness, joy and pleasure; and good thoughts arise. If sentient beings in the three realms of suffering see his light, they will all be relieved and freed from affliction. At the end of their lives, they all reach emancipation.

3 Despite the fact these are some of the most fundamental texts in Mahayana Buddhism…

Learning Keigo through “Chibi Marukochan”

Published March 1, 2010 JLPT , Japanese Leave a Comment

So, in the last month or so, I have been focusing more on reading Japanese as a means of building vocabulary, building correct grammar, and learning words in contexts, instead of rote memorization. As I work close to a Japanese import store, this makes life easier. Recently, we visited there with the family and I picked up this little book:

Chibi Marukochan Manga

This is a manga focused on younger audiences about how to use keigo (敬語) or polite Japanese, featuring a famous cartoon character, Chibi Marukochan (little kid Maruko). My wife remembers watching her cartoons as a little girl, so I was a little embarrased to buy it at first, but I am glad I did as the book has taught me quite a bit about keigo, in native Japanese, which I want to practice reading anyway for the JLPT among other things. Also, the Wikipedia article on keigo is well-written and detailed, but I found that reading about keigo in the context of a children’s comic helped me to break it down and see real-life examples of how it is used, by native speakers, and this book does well to hammer the same points over and over again.

So here’s a quick introduction to keigo, as taught in this manga (filtered through me). This is not an exhaustive overview. Just a sample.

Three types of Keigo

Keigo can be divided into three types:

  1. Sonkeigo (尊敬語) – This is respectful language you use toward others to elevate their status, such as your boss, the elderly and someone else’s family and relatives. You do not use sonkeigo when you talk about your family, friends or company to others, as it sounds extremely arrogant.
  2. Kenjōgo (謙譲語) – This is humble language you use to lower yourself and your intimate circle of friends, family and company (called miuchi 身内 collectively) when talking to others. This often works in tandem with sonkeigo.
  3. Teineigo (丁寧語) – This is more general formal and polite language. Students of Japanese language usually learn this first, and sadly are never taught the other two, as Sonkeigo and Kenjōgo don’t really exist in English. It’s a good start, but without learning the other two, one’s Japanese lacks the “native” sound in my opinion. We will not cover that here as it’s generally well-known among Japanese language students.

So, as I took 2 years of college Japanese, I can say form experience that people usually learn Teineigo, and while Sonkeigo and Kenjōgo usually are left as just a footnote, or ignored altogether. Interestingly, the manga actually focuses on these two first, while leaving Teineigo toward the end, which shows a difference in cultural priorities. While Sonkeigo and Kenjōgo are only a small part of Japanese, learning these will make a noticeable difference in interacting with Japanese native speakers, not just in business, but even friends (and their families) and so on. Do not underestimate their importance! :)

Sonkeigo

Respectful language, or sonkeigo is used to show respect and elevate others (compared to yourself). In English, we have some limited form of respectful language when talking to our bosses, or to the elderly, but in Japanese and other asian-languages, the respectful language is more definitive. The simplest way to express respect in Japanese, according to the manga, is to change a verb to it’s passive/potential form (e.g. 飲む becomes 飲まれます), but this is like “sonkeigo-lite” in that it shows some respect but not that much.

In most cases for regular sonkeigo, a verb can become a respectful verb with only minor changes, but it’s important that for some very common verbs, there exist entirely different verbs exclusively used when showing respect:

verb Honorific Comments
To go,
to come, to be (at)		 いっらっしゃる One verb used to describe all three, and no kanji used. Also used in conjunction with te-form verbs too (e.g. 読んでいっらっしゃる)
To come,
to ask		 伺う,
うかがう		 Another way to express “to come”, but can also mean “to ask”. A great way to open a question to a stranger or over the phone is “伺いたいんですが…”.
To eat 召し上がる,
めしあがる		 A common mistake, even among Japanese, is to add お in front, but I’ve been told by a reliable source that this is wrong and redundant.
To look,
to see		 ご覧になる,
ごらんになる		 A common mistake, even among Japanese, is to add お in front, but I’ve been told by a reliable source that this is wrong and redundant.
To know
(e.g. do you know?)		 ご存知,
ごぞんじ		 A common question to ask someone is ご存知ですか？ or even politer variations.
To speak,
to say		 おっしゃる Kanji seldom used.
To do なさる Also used with compound words with する attached.

Other verbs can usually be made respectful by changing the verb from the “masu-form” to おmasu-stemになる. Examples like 読む become お読みになる or 座る becomes お座りになる. If giving a polite command, you can also do おmasu-stemください as in お入りください (please come/go in) from 入る.

Again, to emphasize, DO NOT EVER use sonkeigo when you talk about people close to you to others. If you are talking to your grandfather, you would use sonkeigo, but if you’re talking about your grandfather to someone else, even if he’s an elder, then you use humble speech. Same goes with your boss, even if he is the CEO of that company.

Lastly, when talking about people, the word hito gets replaced with the more honorific kata (方), when asking about someone else’s manager, you might say tantō no kata (担当の方).1

Humble Speech

Humble speech or kenjōgo, as it implies, lowers yourself when talking with others. Even in basic Japanese, it’s a known fact that when you describe your mother to others, you use humble words like 母 (haha), and when talking about someone else’s mother, you refer to them more respectfully as お母さん (okāsan). Your intimates or inner-circle, or miuchi (身内), including your family, your friends, and even your company and when you talk about these people, or yourself, you should be humble and lower the status somewhat.

This also applies to verbs used. As with sonkeigo, some common words have their own vocabulary, while others just need to be conjugated:

verb Humble Comments
To go,
to come		 参る,
まいる		 One verb used to describe both.
To be (at) おる Also used in conjunction with te-form of verbs to express action (e.g. 帰国しておる)
To eat,
to receive		 頂く,
いただく		 One of the most common and useful humble verbs, you should at least learn this one!
To speak,
to say		 申し上げる I hear this one often used on airlines and other such service-oriented places.
To do いたす Replaces する in compound words too (e.g. お願いいたします), also very useful.
To look,
to see		 拝見する・いたす,
はいけんする・いたす		 As explained above, いたす can replace する for even more humility.
To know 存じる,
ぞんじる		 Variations exist here too.

For other verbs, you can often just take the “masu-stem”, add お in the front, and します (or even more humble いたします) at the end. For example, if you’re telling your teacher you are reading his book, you might say お読みします, or お読みいたします instead plain old 読みます。

Also, as stated earlier, when talking about people in yoru circle, you should use more humble forms of speech. If talking about someone’s daughter you call them ojōsan (お嬢さん), but your own daughter would musume (娘). Also, instead of using hito to describe a person, use mono (者), even if it were your manager or boss. A good example is tantō no mono or “person in charge, manager” (担当の者).1

Conclusion

Keigo in general represents the two extremes between humility and respect, so using it with friends or even acquaintances you know well probably is overkill, or even could sound sarcastic. So, it takes some time to get the right balance in most situations between being polite/humble and not overdoing it, but generally it’s a safe bet that being respectful to your superiors (including your Japanese-language teacher or boss), or being humble when talking about them to others will impress the listener and show you are culturally sensitive.

I found this little manga to be pretty useful for the lessons above, but also for the badly needed reading practice and vocabulary too. :)

P.S. The same manga can be found on Amazon JP, as well as online at Kinokuniya bookstore. If are JLPT certified at the N4-level (with a comfortable passing score) or N3, you can read this book and just look up the words you don’t know.

1 Credit for this example goes to JPod101 and their Upper Immediate series, lesson 1, which I briefly looked at and realized was way too advanced for me yet. :-p

JLPT Roundup, February 2010

Published February 28, 2010 JLPT , Japanese Leave a Comment

February has been a busy month, with lots of distractions that have limited my ability to study, but more
Importantly I decided to shift gears big time in my study of the JLPT after getting some safely advice from my wife. One day while talking to her about my Japanese she stated that I tend to use a lot of big words, but I use them incorrectly and my overall conversational skills are really hit-or-miss, usually miss. For example when talking with her friends I often make incomplete or funny sentences.

It was brutal advice, but what she said was true and made me rethink my approach. Another time she suggested that I read more to see how Japanese actually sounds in context and how people actually use it. She knew Japanese students who learned English by memorizing large volumes of vocabulary, but still couldn’t communicate, because they didn’t know how to apply that knowledge correctly.

So, I dug out some Buddhist-history manga my inlaws had sent me, and set aside the big vocabulary lists for the N2 JLPT. Right away I started learning new words and how to use them correctly, while enjoying the story. The particular manga though was too advanced for me (probably N1 JLPT level I think, if you want to title, let me know), so I went to the local Japan import store and found another good manga called 宇宙の兄弟 (uchū no kyōdai, “Space brothers?”), which was highly rated for 2009, and has proven to be a good read, though at times still a little advanced. So, I found some other manga sources more for middle-school aged kids and found my sweet-spot. Lots of good vocab to learn, which I look up quickly on my iPhone and jisho.org, but still easy enough for me to follow along and enjoy the story. As I get more comfortable, I can then move up to slightly better manga and such.

This doesn’t mean it was easy. At first it was rather discouraging to see how little I understood from our basic, adult-level manga, but I tried to detach my feelings from it, and just learn the words. As the words tended to repeat, reading became a bit easier over time, as I didn’t have to learn as much material, and now I could remember some words pretty easy once I had seen them in context so many times.

Meanwhile, I have been also trying to listen to Japanese more, and I noticed an interesting trend where if I listen to regular, adult-level Japanese podcasts daily, then go back and watch cartoons with my little girl, the cartoons seem slow to me. That’s a good sign in that I am getting acclimated to normal speed. Sadly, this past week, I had a raging ear infection for a week1 before I finally went to the doctor to fix it, so I wasn’t listening much. I hope to get back on it again soon.

So, I’ve set aside a lot of “test study material” and vocab lists and just decided that if I really wanted to learn Japanese and not just get certified (if lucky), then I had to really challenge myself. I think the JLPT is also changing gears as well, to avoid the shortcuts people take to memorize large lists, and not be able to demonstrate actual language skills, so perhaps this change in my approach is better in the long-run, even if not directly related to the JLPT. Once test time approaches, I will go back and review the materials again, rather than use them as my primary source. By then, I should know enough anyway to not have to cram so hard. Or so I hope. :)

So that’s it for February. On that note, I decided for sure to go for the N3 this year, and will take the N2 the following year. I feel in light of various ongoings, this is the best course, and still within my “five year plan”. :)

1 I learned the hard way that cotton swabs are bad for inside the ear, as that wax there actually protects your ears from infection, not the other way around. As the doctor put it to me “don’t put anything in your ear smaller than your elbow.” Good advice. Sorry, I know it’s gross, but well, I learned my lesson and wanted to pass along the advice. That ear infection was hell.

Speaking out against Domestic Violence

Published February 27, 2010 Buddhism , Dune , General , Religion 4 Comments

This is pretty off-topic from the usual blog-ness, but a while back on Twitter, someone had posted a link to this article in The Guardian, featuring the story of Patrick Stewart and his troubled youth under his abusive father. Yes, the same Patrick Stewart who starred in Star Trek, Dune, X-men and other great venues. I highly encourage you stop right now and read the article. I’ll wait.

So, the problem of domestic violence, as Mr. Stewart points out, is devastating to society and affects everyone:

The truth is that domestic violence touches many of us. It is very possible that someone you know – a friend, sister, daughter or colleague – is experiencing abuse. One in four women will experience domestic violence at some point in her lifetime. And every week two women are killed by a current or former partner in England and Wales, and 10 women take their own lives as the only way they know how to escape a violent partner. You are almost certainly paying for it. Domestic violence costs around £26bn a year in medical, legal and housing costs.

And, in every society, even the modern industrialized ones, people are often afraid to speak up about it:

Most people find the idea of violence against women – and sometimes, though rarely, against men – abhorrent, but do nothing to challenge it. More women and children, just like my mother and me, will continue to experience domestic violence unless we all speak out against it.

Keeping more on topic with the blog, a survey on the subject done in Tokyo in 1997 revealed a surprisingly high rate of abuse in homes there. This again shows that the problem is prevalent, and ignorance and silence are the key reasons why it continues.

So, please take time to reflect on this if you can, and see if there any local shelters in your area that need help. In Buddhism, we teach that all things exist in relation to all other things,1 so abuse that happens in one home degrades life for all, while a rescued mother and child do the opposite. Thus, even if you work to light one small corner of the world and brightens an abused child’s life, the efforts are certainly not in vain.

Thank you.

Namu Amida Butsu

P.S. Off-schedule post again, but I felt like posting it sooner than later.

1 The Flower Garland Sutra, while immensely long, essentially can be boiled down to this very point. Rev. Ryuei of the Nichiren Coffeehouse does a great summary as well, and I recommend reading into the Jeweled Net analogy in Buddhism as well. :)

Who’s who in Buddhism, part 5: Jizo Bodhisattva

Published February 26, 2010 Buddhism 9 Comments

It’s hard to be in Japan for very long without noticing this cheerful figure in temples, roadside shrines and so on:

Jizo Bodhisattva rice bowl

This is Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva, the Earth-Store Bodhisattva, also known as Jizō (地蔵). Jizo is a popular figure in East-Asian Buddhism,1 especially in Japan where he is nearly universal, and often recognized by his bald head and long staff or shakujō (錫杖), as well as his role as a Buddhist guardian figure. In addition, Jizo is often best known for his vow to rescue all beings from Hell before he reaches the state of Buddhahood.

Buddhism and the notion of Hell is an interesting subject both to Buddhists and non-Buddhists doing religious comparative studies. For us Westerners, Hell is an all-too-familiar subject, and one reason why many people leave Western religions (too much judgment and condemnation), so when they encounter graphic depictions of Hell in Buddhism as well, this causes both confusion and discomfort. Westerners who like to focus on Buddhism’s rational side usually dismiss these graphic depictions of Hell, and figures such as Enma the Judge of the Underworld, as mere “cultural accretions” or as examples of why Asian Buddhism is somehow backwards.2

However, recently I decided to read through the Buddhist sutra called the Earth Store Bodhisattva Sutra, which is the only text to feature Jizo Bodhisattva, but also covers the subject of Buddhist hells and salvation as well.

The Earth Store Bodhisattva Sutra expounds at length the story of Jizo Bodhisattva, who started the path to become a Bodhisattva as a young Brahmin-caste woman, and had a vision of her mother in Hell. The sutra goes into length describing her dream, and her conversations with the demons in the dream, who explain how Hells are subdivided, various punishments and so on. The Sutra also explains in great detail the effects of one’s negative karma and how this leads to rebirth in various Hells:

Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha, explaining further, said to Bodhisattva Samantabhadra, “Sir, these are the places and manners in which sentient beings in South Jambudvipa who create bad karma by leading evil lives receive their retribution. Karma is tremendously powerful. It is capable of covering Mount Sumeru, is capable of plumbing the vast ocean depths and is even capable of obstructing the holy doctrines. Therefore, sentient beings should not neglect lesser evils as being not sinful; for retribution will be meted out to them after their deaths for every bad intention or violation, even though it be as small or insignificant as an iota. Even beings as closely related as fathers and sons will part their respective ways, and one will not take the punishment of the other even if they chance to cross paths.

The point here, I believe is two things:

  • No intentional, harmful act is “too small”. Everything has its price, and we all have to pay our debts sometime, however small.
  • A person has to accept responsibility for their actions and cannot blame others, nor simply wish them away however uncomfortable or inconvenient.

But the sutra also points out later that even if one commits the worst sins, and is reborn in the worst Hell (Avici) for a near-infinite amount of time, this is still not a permanent state:

[The Buddha:] “Fifthly, if a person falls into this hell, he will die myriads of times and be revived myriads of times each day and each night from the time of his initial entrance unto hundreds of thousands of future kalpas [eons], and he will never have any relief or rest whatsoever from his suffering and torture even for one instant. It is only with the exhaustion of his sinful karma that he will finally be able to gain rebirth. Owing to such continuity of suffering and torture, this hell is, therefore, known as Avici.”

This sentiment is repeated in the Lotus Sutra’s “Devadatta” chapter where Shakyamuni Buddha predicted that Devadatta, the great betrayer who tried to kill the Buddha more than once and divide the monastic commnity, would become a Buddha once his time in the Avici Hell was completed. Unlike the Western notion of Hell, the Buddhist notion of Hell is only as long and terrible as you make it.

In the midst of all this though, the sutra also describes at length Jizo’s efforts to lead and guide beings, to rescue beings in hell, as well as to prevent beings from being reborn in hell in the first place. This is a very important teaching of Salvation in Buddhism as well, as the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas strive to help all beings regardless of their lot. Because all phenomena are empty (contingent and temporary), today’s criminal could become tomorrow’s Bodhisattva, thus the it is taught that given enough time all beings will eventually awaken and become Buddhas.

Anyway over time, Jizo eventually also became seen in popular religion in Japan as a kind of protector of children through his friendly demeanor and his staff. Thus, it’s often the case that people who have lost children also pay homage to Jizo to help protect their children in their transition to the next rebirth, and avoid any spiritual pitfalls and so on. This may also explain why people tie scarves on statues of Jizo, or pile stones and other offerings: in hopes that Jizo will either convey these to their lost ones.

On that note, I have a story in a small book I bought from Todaiji temple in 2005, about the reconstruction of the temple after the disastrous Genpei War. This took a great toll on its chief from the Fujiwara clan, Fujiwara no Yukitaka, who died soon after the temple’s completion. According to the story, the daughter, grieving, prayed before a statue of Jizo Bodhisattva for 7 days, and on the seventh day, a mysterious letter waited for the princess in the hand of the statue from her father, who told her not to grieve and that he was dwelling among Bodhisattvas in the Tushita Heaven for his meritorious deeds.

Another, more famous story I’ve seen in many Japanese children’s books involves a poor but kind couple who were starving one winter just before New Year’s. The husband went to sell some straw hats in the village, but sold nothing, and as he returned home, he passed a famous hill that had 6 statues of Jizo.3 He put a hat on each one of them to protect them from the cold. As his wife and he slept that night, they awoke to a clatter and saw the six statues retreating to the hills, and having left behind a huge bag of food and provisions.

In regards to Jizo’s role as a protector of children, when my daughter was first born, I was concerned about her, and would sometimes recite a basic mantra to Jizo, found in Shingon Buddhist lay services:

on kaka kabi sanmaei sowaka

I even looked for a statues of Jizo as well (see footnote 1) to put by her crib, just in case. This might sound silly, but unless you are a parent, you may not appreciate how vulnerable children are, and even if the stories are a myth, then it provides parents at least a spiritual peace of mind. Imagine life in the old days when disease, infant mortality and malnutrition were a dangerous reality (and still is in many parts of the world).

In any case, Jizo is a pretty intriguing figure in Buddhism, and his role in popular Buddhism in Japan should not be underestimated, and I hope the Buddhist notion of salvation and redemption gets more treatment in the West as time goes on. :-)

Namu Jizō Bosatsu
Namu Amida Butsu

P.S. Reminds me of a recent comic by Sinfest. :)

P.P.S. I wrote this post a while before a certain incident involving a famous Buddhist golfer, and comments about Buddhism and redemption by a certain misinformed news anchor, so I decided to revise somewhat at the last minute.

1 I once stopped by a Tibetan-goods store here in Seattle and asked about a status of Jizo, and got a confused look. I found out later Jizo is a very marginal figure in Tibetan Buddhism, which highlights the regional differences in Buddhist culture, as Jizo is huge in Japan.

2 Trust me, I do not subscribe to this view. Being with my wife this many years, and further study of Buddhism from Asian sources has made me appreciated the rich tradition there, and feel a little ashamed by Western ‘book Buddhists’ at times. Then again, we’re all learning. Today’s know-it-all is tomorrow’s bodhisattva.

3 For the 6 realms of rebirth in traditional Buddhist cosmology, and Jizo’s efforts to assist beings in each realm. Again, explained in the Sutra if you would like more information.

Practice listening to Japanese, part 3: podcasts redux

Published February 24, 2010 JLPT , Japanese 2 Comments

Lately, since I began my preparations for the N2/JLPT2 certification test coming later this year, I decided to really focus more on listening comprehension. Although I passed the listening section of the N4/JLPT3 test in 2009 with a reasonable score, the N2 requires an almost fluent ability to listen to dialogue and conversation, and I know from experience that I am far from this level when I listen to my wife and her friends chat. My wife, who came to the US 10-11 years ago, told me how when she first came, she often listened to American radio, and American music.1

As I live in the US, Japanese radio shows are hard to come by, and I don’t own a lot of music CDs. So, a while back, I decided to make good use of the Internet, and found plenty of online content: news shows and podcasts. At the time, I listened only to Japan Broadcasting station (nippon hōsō, ニッポン放送) which is easily available on iTunes in podcast form. Of those shows, the two I still like consistently the best are 谷村新司 – まあるい日曜日 and YAGアニメラボ零〜ゼロ〜 for their straightforward content and easy listening. Other shows, which focus on comedy only, are definitely for advanced listeners and often utilize Kansai dialect which is harder for Japanese-language students to understand (since we haven’t even mastered standard Japanese yet), so I don’t listen to other shows on Nippon Hoso much anymore.

Lately though, I found another podcast station in Japan called RKB Mainichi Broadcasting company which I initially found on iTunes, though it’s easier to subscribe to individual shows from the website instead, rather than one big feed through iTunes like Nippon Hoso. The shows here vary in content more, with less comedy, and more topical shows including food, advice, and general news or talk shows. I like the show はっちゃけ the best so far, as it’s a 90-minute talk show which posts every Sunday and features two hosts: a guy named Eitaro and a gal named Mami-go. What you get is a good, basic dialogue between the hosts with some comedy, some advice, and so on. A very well-rounded show, and you can listen to both feminine and masculine Japanese, so it’s perfect for Japanese language students. I often spend the whole week going through one show as it’s too long to listen all at once, and I like pace myself. Also, I think the hosts have great chemistry and the Japanese is funny but not too difficult to follow like some comedy Japanese shows.

You can’t get much better than this. :)

I do like other shows too, including the daily スタミナラジオ news show. This appears on weekdays and usually features three guest speakers who talk about news subjects like the economy, travel, and sports, but sometimes the topics are too difficult to follow and I space out, while other topics are pretty engaging like one show about food-carts in India. Try it out, and see what works for you.

As stated in previous posts, the best way to improve listening in a foreign language, I believe is both consistency and variety, so having a live radio show that is both interesting and something you can reasonably follow is a guaranteed way to improve, even if the process is slow and almost imperceptible.2

Good luck!

1 Her taste in music differs from my quite a bit, but I still love her. Just kidding. :)

2 No joke, when I go back and watch my daughter’s little cartoon programs or even listen to JLPT listening sections, sometimes they seem kind of slow now. Frequent listening to normal speed conversation, even in small doses on a consistent basis, really does tune the ear. I can’t wait to go to Japan this spring and try things out.

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