It seems there’s a boom in mountain asceticism. This month’s Kansai Scene had a piece on experiencing shugendo (see here). This morning Japan Today writes of a three-day programme on Mount Mitake, about an hour from Tokyo by train. Cold water austerity doesn’t come in more dramatic form than under a mountain waterfall.
Attempting to meditate while being deluged in freezing water!
The programme is run by Seizan-so Lodge near the Musashi-Mitake shrine and consists of rising before dawn, hiking in the mountains, semi-fasting and meditating while standing under a mountain waterfall – if you can bear it.
The Japan Today piece is an experiential account by Hiroko Yoda, an experienced trail runner. “Hashimoto-sensei leads me and several others in our training,” she writes. “As we stride through the crisp mountain breezes he advises us to think of them as the breath of mountain gods. It helps cut the cold, and the greens of the forest give way to beautiful reds and yellows as we work our way up the peak.”
The highlight comes with a nighttime misogi. “A thick fog covered everything in what would have been a whiteout if it hadn’t been pitch black. Sensei led the way with a flashlight. The forest around us seemed alive. We heard a flying squirrel cry out.
When I stepped under the falls, I was shocked to find it feeling almost warm! Perhaps I’d gotten used to it over the course of my “training.” I called out the chant Sensei had taught us, a plea to the gods of purification: “HARAEDO NO OKAMI!!! HARAEDO NO OKAMI!!!”
The revivifying nature of the cold water has a striking effect: “I was so pumped up afterwards, I felt downright superhuman. Able to leap tall waterfalls and crush rocks with my bare hands. Talk about a natural high.”
Standing in a freezing mountain stream may not be everyone’s idea of fun, but there will be a lot of people mired in a mundane life who are yearning for a spiritual high. Why not stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood, gird your loins and give it a go!
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For the full account in Japan Today, see here.
The three-day programme is run by Seizan-so Lodge (Japanese skills essential), 43 Mitake-san, Ome City, Tokyo. Tel: (0428) 78 8798. Japanese website and prices: http://www.seizan.gr.jp/syugyou.htm Further information in English at this website: http://templelodging.com/spot/03kanto/mitake005.html
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