12-15-2003, 12:18 PM
Zen.
Well, I went wandering through Kyoto last weekend. It's a nice place that can be described as thus: When you think of Japan, you think of Tokyo. But you picture Kyoto.
Tokyo is "modern" and "neon". Kyoto is old and traditional. Sure, the downtown is "modern" and "neon", but 10 minutes away you have ancient temples built in the 1400s that date back to the 700s. Most are Buddhist temples, all are impressive and those pictures you see of Japan have those buildings like them in it. When leafing through a guidebook, you see one or two pictures of the neon and 1000 of the old, traditional temples. In Tokyo, there are 1000 places to see Neon and 2 to see temples.
Kyoto is the other way around.
So? the temples. Most of them have a section where they show off Japanese artwork that was painted before the US was a country. Wall after wall of these paintings dating from the 1600s? 1500s...1400s... It's amazing. It's also in the "iconographic" style we never had in the west, educating subtly and calming in the Buddhist ways.
But you should note -- and this is something the guidebooks NEVER tell you -- you should wear heavy, wool socks. Especially in December. As you walk into most of the temple buildings, you must remove your shoes. Some have slippers, but you still get cold feet walking across the wooden floor that was probably last replaced 500 years ago...
After we finished with the temple, there is usually a massive Zen garden. Rocks and plants are placed just so; exactly raked gravel gives a sense of motion like water. Pools and lakes reflect the changing colour of the autumn leaves...and the Zen path is laid out in front of you to follow...
Usually with little red arrows that completely ruin the Zen-ness of the garden. There really is only one way to wander through a Japanese Zen garden. You follow the arrows, you see the sights, and you move on. The path to enlightenment is the quickest way through the garden so they can get more people through the temple at Y500 / person. Very rarely do they just let you wander; you follow the path... And you get to the end and pass through the gate and you've found exactly what you expected...
Which, from what I recall about the subject, is not Zen at all... It's about finding your own path. Seeing things differently and obtaining Enlightenment; not about following a set path... Well, maybe in Japan.
So...after this Zen, relaxing, educating day, we headed back to the train station. Where we followed the little red arrows, which get us lost in a shopping mall, running around madly trying to find the people who had our luggage so we could make our train. About the time we were just about ready to scream, we ended up at McDonalds on a cellphone asking the hotel "Where is the baggage place!" Honestly, the best cure for too much Zen is 5 minutes in any major train station!
So, after getting our bags, ironically, we end up back in line at McDonalds to grab a quick bite to eat. We got in line. We followed the red arrows and in the end, passed through the gate with exactly what we expected: A Big Mac, large fries, and a chocolate shake.
Well, I went wandering through Kyoto last weekend. It's a nice place that can be described as thus: When you think of Japan, you think of Tokyo. But you picture Kyoto.
Tokyo is "modern" and "neon". Kyoto is old and traditional. Sure, the downtown is "modern" and "neon", but 10 minutes away you have ancient temples built in the 1400s that date back to the 700s. Most are Buddhist temples, all are impressive and those pictures you see of Japan have those buildings like them in it. When leafing through a guidebook, you see one or two pictures of the neon and 1000 of the old, traditional temples. In Tokyo, there are 1000 places to see Neon and 2 to see temples.
Kyoto is the other way around.
So? the temples. Most of them have a section where they show off Japanese artwork that was painted before the US was a country. Wall after wall of these paintings dating from the 1600s? 1500s...1400s... It's amazing. It's also in the "iconographic" style we never had in the west, educating subtly and calming in the Buddhist ways.
But you should note -- and this is something the guidebooks NEVER tell you -- you should wear heavy, wool socks. Especially in December. As you walk into most of the temple buildings, you must remove your shoes. Some have slippers, but you still get cold feet walking across the wooden floor that was probably last replaced 500 years ago...
After we finished with the temple, there is usually a massive Zen garden. Rocks and plants are placed just so; exactly raked gravel gives a sense of motion like water. Pools and lakes reflect the changing colour of the autumn leaves...and the Zen path is laid out in front of you to follow...
Usually with little red arrows that completely ruin the Zen-ness of the garden. There really is only one way to wander through a Japanese Zen garden. You follow the arrows, you see the sights, and you move on. The path to enlightenment is the quickest way through the garden so they can get more people through the temple at Y500 / person. Very rarely do they just let you wander; you follow the path... And you get to the end and pass through the gate and you've found exactly what you expected...
Which, from what I recall about the subject, is not Zen at all... It's about finding your own path. Seeing things differently and obtaining Enlightenment; not about following a set path... Well, maybe in Japan.
So...after this Zen, relaxing, educating day, we headed back to the train station. Where we followed the little red arrows, which get us lost in a shopping mall, running around madly trying to find the people who had our luggage so we could make our train. About the time we were just about ready to scream, we ended up at McDonalds on a cellphone asking the hotel "Where is the baggage place!" Honestly, the best cure for too much Zen is 5 minutes in any major train station!
So, after getting our bags, ironically, we end up back in line at McDonalds to grab a quick bite to eat. We got in line. We followed the red arrows and in the end, passed through the gate with exactly what we expected: A Big Mac, large fries, and a chocolate shake.
Gullible isn't in the dictionary.