Q: Is Zen a religion?

A: Yes.

This is a question I come across more often than I would have thought. Actually, I don't think I've ever thought about whether or not zen is a religion before I heard the question for the first time. For me zen has always been a religion among the others, a branch of buddhism among other branches of buddhism.

In fact, I don't see a single reason why zen wouldn't be a religion. Just because you can take the ideology of a religion and practise it without its religious aspects doesn't somehow erase the original product. Just because you could live by christian ethics without actually belonging to a denomination or believing in God doesn't make christianity any less a religion. And that, I think (ooh, she thinks! Scary!) is what has happened to zen - particularly in the west.

I'm all for the "treat others as you'd like to be treated yourself" and "don't kill" and whatnot, basic civilized rules that are laid out in the book known as the Bible. I can pretty much say that I live by these rules, but I'm not a big fan of the religious stuff, believing to God and Jesus and resurrection and sins. But I'm happy to take this "Golden Rule"-thing and use it to make my life better. Am I a christian believer? Nope. Can I say that just because I use christian ethics in a non-religious way, christianity is not a religion? No.

Zazen, a.k.a. "zen meditation" (a term that it is a bit misleading in some cases, but let's deal with that later), can be a valuable tool for anyone. You don't need to be buddhist, even less zen buddhist, to practise zazen and enjoy its good effects. Doing zazen doesn't make you a zen buddhist either, no more than the act of going to the church makes one a christian. You might get peace of mind from hearing a mass or saying the prayers with rest of people there, but that still won't necessarily make you a christian. The same thing with zen philosophy - if you get something out of it, good for you. If you can incorporate it to your own life and situation, even better. But don't for gods' sake come to tell me that just because YOU might not think zen is YOUR religion, that it isn't a religion at all!

First of all, zen is a type of buddhism, and buddhism is, at least when I last checked, one of the major world religions. Ergo, zen = buddhism = religion. All the zen schools draw their roots to a buddhist monk called Bodhidharma, Daruma in japanese, who brought his variant of buddhism to China in the 5th c. and who emphasised inner enlightenment, transmission without reliance on words and meditation as the most important practise. Humans being what they are the school split into several branches first in China, and then some of these were transmitted to Japan - the biggest schools being Rinzai and Sôtô. The importance of this dharma lineage is shown for example in the Sôtô practise of chanting all the names in your own lineage from Shakamuni (Shakyamuni) to the head of your own monastery each morning. I've seen the list of names and it's no mean feat to memorize them all...

And secondly, doing zazen and using the "zen way of thinking" (whatever that might be) to be able to cope better with your everyday problems is just fine, but that's actually not zen at all. And from now on I'll speak of Sôtô zen, since that's the school I know something about. There's a special reason for zazen, and it's not to make your life easier (though that might also happen). We do zazen because that's when we literally become buddhas. Zazen, when properly done, is not a way to enlightenment, it IS enlightenment. 一分座れば一分仏, sit for one minute and you're a buddha for one minute. Those who recognize something religious in this way of thinking raise your hands? Maybe something, mm ... I don't know ... supernatural? I mean, suddenly turning to a buddha and all? And no, this ISN'T a metaphor. Suddenly there's all these thing's to believe in: First of all, you must believe that story about Buddha, suffering and enlightenment. And as if that wasn't enough, you must believe that we all have the same ability (and need) for the said enlightenment, and that it's possible by following the principles laid out by Dôgen zenji, basically by sitting facing a wall. Which part here doesn't look like "religion"? (Although I admit that getting up voluntarily at 4.45am just to be able to sit for 40min facing a wall, being hit with a stick and then cleaning the temple grounds without getting paid sounds somewhat more like a cult than a religion... *g*)

So, Sôtô zen has validity both as a religious tradition and organization, and there's religious beliefs behind it all. And what's more important, there are believers - a religion without followers would indeed be a useless thing. And as long as these three can be found, I'm of the opinion that zen is a religion.

I don't like Shinjuku, especially at night. The same goes for Shibuya. They somehow embody all that I find irritating in Japan - the crowds, the flashy neon lights, girls dressed in higher heels than they can manage to walk in and boys with their hair done up with tons of gel and feet in canoe-shaped shoes. The noise, the push of crowds of tiny japanese and the shrill sound of laughing girls. It all usuallly makes me want to escape, and fast.

Actually, I had already convinced myself that I don't really like Tokyo that much at all. I remember telling my friends and family that Tokyo doesn't really suit me that much at all, being too big, noisy and crowded.

All this because I hadn't yet found the kind of Tokyo I like. A kind of Tokyo that is a bit harder to find on your own, without a "native guide" of sorts.

I love the smaller roads and alleys you find when stepping aside from the main roads. The houses and apartments with potted plants and clothes hanged to dry on the balconies. The cats skulking in the shadows. The moss that grows everywhere making the walls and ground have a shade of green. The drawn curtains and the little old ladies sweeping the ground or talking with their neighbours.

And the small restaurants and izakayas that you almost fail to notice if you don't know where to look for the door. Places with less than 15 places for customers. Those places where someone you know takes you, and where you can spend hours eating, drinking and talking about everything between zen and different kinds of fish. Split bills and friendly teasing. The dark shortcuts in the middle of nowhere you take to get to these places - and then when walking to the nearest metro station you suddenly realize how few turns separated it from the sea of neon lights in the first place. So hidden but so close...

I especially love my 35min walk to the temple in the monday mornings. It's quiet and calm in the small streets between Edogawa and Myôgadani, and it makes me feel as if I'm alone in the world. Then, climbing the stairs to the entrance, slipping in the silent temple building and whispering a good morning to anyone that hasn't yet climbed to the hondô to wait for the beginning of the zazen... I didn't go today since I wasn't sure whether I'd be able to sit for 40min without coughing all the time (mornings and evenings are the worst), and once again I'm already regretting it. Yes, I know, I'm an addict. I might need some rehab time when I come back to Finland. *g*

Anyways, my only regret is that I still don't know much about this kind of Tokyo, I've only started to realize how near it actually is. I need more time!

Well, turns out I did survive the Fugu night out - both in terms of not getting poisoned and not getting any sicker than I already was. Yes, eating badly prepared fugu can kill you, but it's way safer than, say, driving a car or crossing the road, and anyways, now there's one thing less on my checklist of things I have to eat in Japan. I still have to think of something since everyone's asking me whther there's still something I'd want to eat, and of course one should use all the chances to get new culinary experiences at other people's expense.

I think I prefered the grilled fugu, since fugu sashimi doesn't really taste that much... It's got a nice feel to it, though, and if someone would offer it to me in the future I certainly wouldn't turn the offer down. *g* We also had raw fugu skin, grilled fugu skin, boiled fugu and 2 kinds of fugu sashimi, thinly sliced and thickly sliced. And then hot sake with grilled fugu tail fins in it, which tasted a bit strange - it was good but the taste was very unlike anything I've had before.

The other funny thing with fugu, especially the grilled one is that you eat it with your fingers with the juices running all over your hands. Mmm.... Messy and good. The meat around the mouth didn't actully feel like fish meat at all, but I don't really know what else I could compare it to. It had a much softer and fatty feel to it than what I usually associate with fish meat.

All in all, I'm happy I didn't cancel like I thought I'd have to when I woke up in the morning unable to speak... I think the meds are helping, at least my voice is much more stable now - it's still husky and low, but it doesn't break anymore like it did yesterday. Now I'll just have to take things slowly and be a good girl and take my 4 kinds of pills and the white powder 3 times a day.

I should also start getting ready for the unavoidble fact that I must leave the country in a month - and the dorm even faster. I still haven't booked a place to stay for my last week, and I have yet to find out a way to ship all my books back home. Sigh.

I still remember when we had a lesson in our 2nd year japanese book about going to the doctor, and how I thought that the whole 3 different colored pills for a cough -episode was ridiculously funny. No wonder I had some difficulties keeping a straight face when an hour ago I was listening to a young doctor first telling me that there's actually not that much wrong with me, just a normal viral infection that should go away in some days, and then prescribing me 5 different medicines. FIVE! For "controlling the symptoms". I don't remember a time when I'd have taken 5 different medications simultaneously before, even if I count all the painkillers and other over-the-counter meds. And yes, he explained them to me in terms of color and shape: "First there's this general cold medicine that you take 1 sachet three times a day after the meal, then there's the pink pills, and the bigger white pills that you also take the same way, and then the small white pills that you should take 2 instead of 1, but similarly three times after meals, and the donut-shaped pills you should take whenever your throat hurts or feels uncomfortable." He also neglected to mention that the general medicine was a powder and I've never have taken powders before (apparently you're not supposed to mix them with water but just eat them as they are?), but hey, there's a first time for everything, right?

So, now I'm like an old granny taking pills at every turn. This also means that I need to keep eating regularly, since even though I might have taken meds to an empty stomach before (yes, bad me), I'm a bit afraid what my otherwise pretty tough tummy that can handle almost anything would say about this japanese way of medication...

In Finland the doctor would have just taken a look at my throat, and then told me to get back to work while glaring at me with a "why are you wasting my time"-look. It's kind of from one extreme to the other... But the frustrating truth is that it's only my vocal chords that are inflamed, and otherwise I'm fine - meaning I don't feel the need to stay at home resting (which I probably should be doing). Not only that, after one day of staying inside I'm so bored that I need to get out, and if I'm in a good enough condition to stay on my 2 feet, I'll just tell myself that "I just won't talk at all and everything will be alright". As if I could "not talk at all". *g* And anyways I'm so used to losing my voice (happens completely usually once a year) that I somehow can't take it as seriously as I probably should. Even now the only reason for me to go to the doctor is that I have my shinsa next sunday and I absolutely need to be in a relatively good condition for it. Ok, I don't need my voice for it, at least not much, but I still wouldn't want my condition to be any worse than what it is now. Well, the doctor said that this should be gone by sunday or monday and he gave me meds only for 5 days, so hopefully I won't have to go and get some more.

Apart from the small inconveniences caused by the cold, yesterday evening went nicely. I had managed to write a haiku-like haiku for the very first time! *applause* It's my first haiku that isn't too descriptive, and here it is:

夏山の　竹陰の感　初日本

It's also harder to translate than the previous ones, but I'll give it a try: The feeling of shadowy bamboo forests in the summer mountains - my first time in (first impression of) Japan. When I first came here in 2002 I didn't really understand anything about Japan, and I was taken to all these nice temples in the mountains etc. - but what made the strongest impression to me was the forests of bamboo in the mountains (no bamboo nor mountains in Finland), and how it felt to walk in their shadow listening the sound of the wind moving through the bamboo leaves... I'm still in love with japanese mountains and bamboo, and that's something that began on my first trip here.

I wasn't at all sure about the haiku at first, and it's something I barely managed to finish before having to leave for zazen, but apparently I managed to do something right this time. :D I got a long lecture of how the 2 parts of a haiku can be related to each other in a descriptive way (the way I usually write them), or they can be related in only the writers mind (like this last one - there's not really anything tying the last line with the 2 others if you don't know the story behind it), and somehow apparently the latter is good as it's not nearly as descriptive as the former one. What I'd like to know is when is it a good thing and when is it not clear enough? There's a fine line there and I think the only way to find out is by trial and error... It's so frustrating that once I'm starting to get some hang of this I have to return back home.

The annoying thing is that I had to explain yesterday some 10 times when I will be returning back home - everyone kept asking it since my small iaidô demonstration yesterday was a kind of "farewell demonstration" - even though I'm still here for a month. Only a month, that is. 寂しいなぁ。。。

Well, I didn't go to the tea ceremony after all, since I had to cancel it last night in the wee hours when I was kept awake by a hurting throat and a cough. I woke up to a fever, sent messages to inform people about me missing classes, and went to the conbini (convenience store) to prepare for a day of staying inside and doing nothing - food, soyjoy (soy energy bars that have saved me so many times in times of quick energy fix need) and drinks.

Japan is the promised land of different miracle drinks and I'm not sure how I will survive back home without them. First there is the sports drink variety: Aquarius, Pocari Sweat and Dakara - things that supposedly give you back all the kinds of things you lose when sweating. I don't know how I can ever survive a day of practise without getting my Aquarius Zero fix... It's also great drunk on the way home from drinking, or on hangover days. Aquarius Zero is my chosen sports drink, but when I'm sick I prefer Dakara for some reason. I think it's basically the same stuff, but it advertises itself as a "body balance"-drink, so maybe it's just the slogan that has gotten me hooked. I once practically lived on Dakara for almost a week: we had gone to Shakey's pizza for the first time for a tabehôdai (eat as much as you can), and something very strange ensued - a pizza hangover. I couldn't eat for almost a week, becasue as soon as I as much as thought about food I got this nauseous feeling of having my stomach full, and for the first 2 days I felt almost feverish. At that time I also had a friend staying in my dorm room (very forbidden, I know... I'm such a bad girl *g*), and he bought me Dakara every day. I still remember the happy feeling on sunday when I felt hungry for the first time in a week!

Closely related to the sports drinks are the C-vitamin drinks, like Vitamin Water and Vitamin Guard. Also great for colds and hangovers, and warding off both of them. The thing is that there's 1000mg of C-vitamin in one 1/2l. bottle. A thousand. So, I seriously hope that it's true when they say it's impossible to get an overdose of C-vitamin... *g* There's also often honey and royal jelly included in the drinks, so if these don't work, I wouldn't know what would. Then you can also buy smaller bottles of them hot (like Hotto Remon = Hot Lemon), which is great for sore throat or cold winter evenings when waiting for your train - and for example this time I mixed some of my favorite herbal drops with the hot honey/lemondrink and... :) Works.

And last but not in any way least, is Ukon no Chikara. A wonderdrink in a small 100ml bottle that is the only working anti-hangover cure I've found this far. It's made from some plant from the family of ginger, it's got this strong yellow color and a peculiar taste. You drink it preferable before starting to drink alcohol, but I've had good results with taking it in the middle or even after drinking when coming back home drunk as .... well. Anyways, a quick trip to conbini, 1 UnC and one vitamin drink taken just before passing out - and it's possible to still wake up for the 9am japanese class next morning.

And these are not all, only those I've been using. There's also a Ninniku no Chikara made from garlic, various small and dark bottles of stronger vitamin drinks - almost anything one could imagine.

And let's not forget the selection of cold green teas that work wonders on hot summer days. You can also buy cold coffee in both cans and bottles, but they're often overly sweet and so fit only for some situations. Then there's a variety of different other teas, like barley tea, that take some time to get used to because the taste can be quite strange.

What will I do in Finland?

You can buy Ukon no Chikara as pills too, so I definitely have to bring those back to Finland with me (anything that gets me rid of the hangovers I get all too easily - and I don't even like to drink that much!). But the cold teas and my Aquarius Zero..? *sigh*