I'm just going to tell you what happened this week. Warning, Wednesday is the longest, but that's because the most happened that day.
Wednesday the 8th:
On Tuesday, a random Englishman, Mark, had invited Rebekah to see a Buddhist temple on Wednesday, so we both woke up a little early and went to meet him at the station. I don't know what kind of decision-making skills we have. We thought that he was just going to show us around one of those traditional temples and maybe give us a little insight into what goes on in people's minds when they are worshiping Siddhartha Gautama, the other gods, and many 'saints.' Well, we did get some of that, but it was not at all what I had pictured in my mind.
He was nice enough to pay for our way to the Shinnyo temple a couple of stops north of Tachikawa on the Tama Monorail. All the way there, and prettymuch the whole time, he told us about his particular sect of Buddhism, its founders, his experiences, and just what this and that are. Apparently, Shinnyo is descended from Shingo Buddhism from China. He said on the train that he was baptised and confirmed into the Anglican church when he was thirteen, but avoided my question about whether he really believed; he said that the hypocritical priests through him off. He also tried to use a story about a dead bishop of Durham that he "contacted" through a medium that apparently supported the whole Buddhist idea. I remembered Isaiah 8:19- why do people look to spiritual mediums and necromancers when they could ask God himself?(Kelsey's annotated version). I asked him how he knew it was him. Faith, of course.
A lot of the ideas he had mixed up so many kinds of belief. 10 planets where the dead go. Reincarnation. Different levels of awesomeness. I think he said he's on level 2 right now. He basically worships the leaders of this sect. It's a family, father used to make planes, that's prettymuch all dead now. One kid was made into a kind of Jesus figure, taking on karma, so he had to die(nothing about being a sickly person, of course). The other kid, I don't know what his excuse was, but he died too, and apparently posthumously left some little ditty that made his mom feel better.
Before you enter Mark's megatemple, you pass by two guardians, one of the earth and one of heaven. Everybody prays to them and you can put coins in to apparently rid yourself of your greed. Actually getting into the real part of the temple is a pain. Everyone has to get a tag and foreigners not only have to sign in but fill out a flu form. It was like an airport or something! Then we went up to the third floor, now accompanied by a guide, Mark, and Mark's Chinese friend.
After saving our spots on the carpet in the main worship place, Mark gave us a tour and tried to convince us that Christians and Buddhists and Muslims, etc. all believe the same thing. He was so oblivious while doing this. I mean, he got me and Rebekah cups out of the trash can to get water from the fountain. Nasty! I had to make a quick switcheroo. And he just walked in front of everyone when they were politely watching a video, etc.
Anyway, he tried to use Uncle Tom's Cabin to convince us that faith is all you need. If you persevere through evil and stand up for what you believe in, like the main character did, then it's all good. I politely disagreed, saying how Jesus said different things than Gautama. And then he tried to say that Jesus and Mohammad and Gautama were the same person, just reincarnated. All kinds of messy.
He showed us the wandering Buddha statue, which was actually hidden behind a screen, so you had to look at it from the right angle. Told us a cute tale about how Gautama was about to give up on trying to find nirvana when he came across a squirrel that was splashing water out of a lake, drop by drop, with it's tale. Gautama asked what he was doing and basically said that it was futile. The squirrel said that he was going to empty the lake no matter how long it was going to take. And so Gautama determined to persevere up the mountain. It was cute, but Buddhists don't have what we have: God. He can do the impossible that we can't.
He also tried to show us the diamond guardian, and then he showed us the Achala, a thing that
cuts away the karma of people with a sword. There was also a shrine for the family. All of their very normal looking busts were overlaid in gold. Lastly, he took us downstairs to see the reclining Buddha, who was all enlightenified, but people kindly said to him, like they would say to a child, that we should probably go upstairs because the service was about to start.
So we sat through an entire Buddhist worship service. Who knows if one is typically like the one we went to. Everyone sat in seiza on the lush carpet, except for a few elderly or foreigners(we sat on the floor). The very venerated and full-of-herself high priestess did the service. There were very many chants that everyone did. Many namu this or that person, including all of the priests and the Buddha and dharma, etc. All the while, the curtain had been pulled up- there was a large gold reclining Buddha statue(one that me and R both admitted to each other we wanted to smash). Mark actually expected us to chant along. Sike! We did look at the words. I was just curious as to what they were saying.
After the priestess left, smiling so humble like and even talking to her fervent followers(gasp!), there was a testimony by a layman who normally does the audio visual stuff(like all of the tvs -that were all over the place and the cameramen in at least three different spots- quite a producution! He talked about the founder and his last year, and how sickly he was, but how he tried so hard until he died(it's apparently the anniversary of his death sometime this month). I saw a book on the collapse of the Berlin Wall downstairs and was confused, but apparently that was the year he died, so they tie the two together. Something about not only doctrine, but also action. He hawked some postcards of pictures taken by the high priestess, citing that the proceeds would go to charity.
Then, when we thought it was done, it was not. A recording of the founder one year when he preached the festival day we were attending. He didn't say anything worthwhile, seemed less coherent than the deacon(BTW, all of this was being translated into English by someone in the back into a radio in my ear, it was all in Japanese). He repeated at least twice that Buddhist teaching is hidden, but only to the public, anyone can come and go through training, and then hear what they believe. Bah!
Anyway, after the service(and more announcements about things being sold), Rebekah and I wanted to get out as fast as our feet would take us. Mark gave us some money to get home and for lunch. Thank God Mark wanted to go to a sesshin(reaching out to a spirit guide). I know it's selfish, but we had had enough. His Chinese friend also had somewhere to go, but she tried to pass us off to another friend, so he could take us to their cafeteria, but we weasled out of that, got our shoes and bags, and basically sprinted out of the temple, Rebekah handing her temple-borrowed socks to the woman, I putting my guest tag on a random table.
What an experience! I'm still trying to figure it out. We decided we needed to debrief, so we spent a couple of hours at starbucks and had the best spiritual conversation we've had yet, just about a myriad of topics, like tolerance and etiquette in another religion's place of worship, boldness, and really anything that came to mind.
Once we got out and did five minute english, the koban kicked us both off the north side after only standing there a few minutes. 3 times for me so far. Then we moved to the south side. Didn't really talk to anyone, but there was a pastor and his wife and baby from a Korean Methodist Church in Hachioji handing out flyers for his church, so that was encouraging.
That night, on a whim, we took the Azusa Limited Express to Shinjuku- only 25 minutes, but 500 yen. I bought my first clothes from Japan: skinny jeans from H&M in Harajuku. We ate out with some friends in Shibuya at a garlic restaurant and I ate some rum cake.
Thursday the 9th:
Campus. Met two law majors;one I gave a website, the other, we'll meet Tuesday. Neither were very interested in the gospel.
Did five minute English in Hachioji. It was fun to go over there and be with some other people. I talked to a woman about Fuji and gave her a hope tract.
Michael, Cara, Caleb, and I went to a conveyor belt sushi bar, my first one. It was fun, especially after we realized that the green powdery stuff was actually powdered green tea and not wasabi- and that's why the taps had hot water.
Went all the way to Shibuya, because I thought that girls' accountability was going to happen, but it didn't. Not entirely wasted, though, because I got to be a part of the cave's new daily prayer and worship time. It was encouraging. We even sang the now old Your Grace is Enough.'
Friday the 10th:
Another great day. Too bad Kaitlyn and Katie had to go back home so Katie could see the doctor about her leg. Rebekah, Caleb and I put out those gospels of Johns so fast, we didn't know what to do with ourselves. We did cover a lot of area, though, so that's good. They're just obviously thicker than the hope tracts, so even carrying three times as much doesn't cut it timewise.
After a bit of not knowing what to do with us, the day picked up. The Kunitachi team came and joined us on the south side, and I talked to a few people there, including an English major who's Chinese that I'm going to meet for Bible Study tomorrow! I also talked to a meter reader who's going to a Mormon church. Tried to warn her against it and gave her a hope tract.
After the Kunitachi team left and the Hachioji team replaced them, I went downstairs with Michael. He talked to a few people and introduced me to a woman, Haneda, who had an interest in a Bible study, but sounded like she was scared of what her husband might think about her doing a Bible study.
Then some pimps came to stand by us, and that was bad for business...so Michael gave them some tracts then we all went to the north side. Weren't kicked off or bothered or anything. I talked to a high school girl, a hairdresser handing out flyers, and two humongous guys who didn't speak English, but were cool. We gave them gospels of John and hope tracts and they even shouted out to help our business for a second. It was really funny.
After that, we four who remained hung out in krispy kreme until our appointments with contacts. Riddles- including a crazy one about an albatross and a man committing suicide. Caleb, Rebekah, and I met with Takahito. He was fun. Michael met with a mother and her son- the mother being a Christian. The son accepted Christ! Praise God.
We homestayers watched The Uninvited for our Friday night movie. Actually pretty tight.
Anyway, busy, fruitful week. Praise God! I'm just hanging out today. May go exploring here in Tachikawa just to do something. We'll see.
Wednesday the 8th:
On Tuesday, a random Englishman, Mark, had invited Rebekah to see a Buddhist temple on Wednesday, so we both woke up a little early and went to meet him at the station. I don't know what kind of decision-making skills we have. We thought that he was just going to show us around one of those traditional temples and maybe give us a little insight into what goes on in people's minds when they are worshiping Siddhartha Gautama, the other gods, and many 'saints.' Well, we did get some of that, but it was not at all what I had pictured in my mind.
He was nice enough to pay for our way to the Shinnyo temple a couple of stops north of Tachikawa on the Tama Monorail. All the way there, and prettymuch the whole time, he told us about his particular sect of Buddhism, its founders, his experiences, and just what this and that are. Apparently, Shinnyo is descended from Shingo Buddhism from China. He said on the train that he was baptised and confirmed into the Anglican church when he was thirteen, but avoided my question about whether he really believed; he said that the hypocritical priests through him off. He also tried to use a story about a dead bishop of Durham that he "contacted" through a medium that apparently supported the whole Buddhist idea. I remembered Isaiah 8:19- why do people look to spiritual mediums and necromancers when they could ask God himself?(Kelsey's annotated version). I asked him how he knew it was him. Faith, of course.
A lot of the ideas he had mixed up so many kinds of belief. 10 planets where the dead go. Reincarnation. Different levels of awesomeness. I think he said he's on level 2 right now. He basically worships the leaders of this sect. It's a family, father used to make planes, that's prettymuch all dead now. One kid was made into a kind of Jesus figure, taking on karma, so he had to die(nothing about being a sickly person, of course). The other kid, I don't know what his excuse was, but he died too, and apparently posthumously left some little ditty that made his mom feel better.
Before you enter Mark's megatemple, you pass by two guardians, one of the earth and one of heaven. Everybody prays to them and you can put coins in to apparently rid yourself of your greed. Actually getting into the real part of the temple is a pain. Everyone has to get a tag and foreigners not only have to sign in but fill out a flu form. It was like an airport or something! Then we went up to the third floor, now accompanied by a guide, Mark, and Mark's Chinese friend.
After saving our spots on the carpet in the main worship place, Mark gave us a tour and tried to convince us that Christians and Buddhists and Muslims, etc. all believe the same thing. He was so oblivious while doing this. I mean, he got me and Rebekah cups out of the trash can to get water from the fountain. Nasty! I had to make a quick switcheroo. And he just walked in front of everyone when they were politely watching a video, etc.
Anyway, he tried to use Uncle Tom's Cabin to convince us that faith is all you need. If you persevere through evil and stand up for what you believe in, like the main character did, then it's all good. I politely disagreed, saying how Jesus said different things than Gautama. And then he tried to say that Jesus and Mohammad and Gautama were the same person, just reincarnated. All kinds of messy.
He showed us the wandering Buddha statue, which was actually hidden behind a screen, so you had to look at it from the right angle. Told us a cute tale about how Gautama was about to give up on trying to find nirvana when he came across a squirrel that was splashing water out of a lake, drop by drop, with it's tale. Gautama asked what he was doing and basically said that it was futile. The squirrel said that he was going to empty the lake no matter how long it was going to take. And so Gautama determined to persevere up the mountain. It was cute, but Buddhists don't have what we have: God. He can do the impossible that we can't.
He also tried to show us the diamond guardian, and then he showed us the Achala, a thing that
cuts away the karma of people with a sword. There was also a shrine for the family. All of their very normal looking busts were overlaid in gold. Lastly, he took us downstairs to see the reclining Buddha, who was all enlightenified, but people kindly said to him, like they would say to a child, that we should probably go upstairs because the service was about to start.
So we sat through an entire Buddhist worship service. Who knows if one is typically like the one we went to. Everyone sat in seiza on the lush carpet, except for a few elderly or foreigners(we sat on the floor). The very venerated and full-of-herself high priestess did the service. There were very many chants that everyone did. Many namu this or that person, including all of the priests and the Buddha and dharma, etc. All the while, the curtain had been pulled up- there was a large gold reclining Buddha statue(one that me and R both admitted to each other we wanted to smash). Mark actually expected us to chant along. Sike! We did look at the words. I was just curious as to what they were saying.
After the priestess left, smiling so humble like and even talking to her fervent followers(gasp!), there was a testimony by a layman who normally does the audio visual stuff(like all of the tvs -that were all over the place and the cameramen in at least three different spots- quite a producution! He talked about the founder and his last year, and how sickly he was, but how he tried so hard until he died(it's apparently the anniversary of his death sometime this month). I saw a book on the collapse of the Berlin Wall downstairs and was confused, but apparently that was the year he died, so they tie the two together. Something about not only doctrine, but also action. He hawked some postcards of pictures taken by the high priestess, citing that the proceeds would go to charity.
Then, when we thought it was done, it was not. A recording of the founder one year when he preached the festival day we were attending. He didn't say anything worthwhile, seemed less coherent than the deacon(BTW, all of this was being translated into English by someone in the back into a radio in my ear, it was all in Japanese). He repeated at least twice that Buddhist teaching is hidden, but only to the public, anyone can come and go through training, and then hear what they believe. Bah!
Anyway, after the service(and more announcements about things being sold), Rebekah and I wanted to get out as fast as our feet would take us. Mark gave us some money to get home and for lunch. Thank God Mark wanted to go to a sesshin(reaching out to a spirit guide). I know it's selfish, but we had had enough. His Chinese friend also had somewhere to go, but she tried to pass us off to another friend, so he could take us to their cafeteria, but we weasled out of that, got our shoes and bags, and basically sprinted out of the temple, Rebekah handing her temple-borrowed socks to the woman, I putting my guest tag on a random table.
What an experience! I'm still trying to figure it out. We decided we needed to debrief, so we spent a couple of hours at starbucks and had the best spiritual conversation we've had yet, just about a myriad of topics, like tolerance and etiquette in another religion's place of worship, boldness, and really anything that came to mind.
Once we got out and did five minute english, the koban kicked us both off the north side after only standing there a few minutes. 3 times for me so far. Then we moved to the south side. Didn't really talk to anyone, but there was a pastor and his wife and baby from a Korean Methodist Church in Hachioji handing out flyers for his church, so that was encouraging.
That night, on a whim, we took the Azusa Limited Express to Shinjuku- only 25 minutes, but 500 yen. I bought my first clothes from Japan: skinny jeans from H&M in Harajuku. We ate out with some friends in Shibuya at a garlic restaurant and I ate some rum cake.
Thursday the 9th:
Campus. Met two law majors;one I gave a website, the other, we'll meet Tuesday. Neither were very interested in the gospel.
Did five minute English in Hachioji. It was fun to go over there and be with some other people. I talked to a woman about Fuji and gave her a hope tract.
Michael, Cara, Caleb, and I went to a conveyor belt sushi bar, my first one. It was fun, especially after we realized that the green powdery stuff was actually powdered green tea and not wasabi- and that's why the taps had hot water.
Went all the way to Shibuya, because I thought that girls' accountability was going to happen, but it didn't. Not entirely wasted, though, because I got to be a part of the cave's new daily prayer and worship time. It was encouraging. We even sang the now old Your Grace is Enough.'
Friday the 10th:
Another great day. Too bad Kaitlyn and Katie had to go back home so Katie could see the doctor about her leg. Rebekah, Caleb and I put out those gospels of Johns so fast, we didn't know what to do with ourselves. We did cover a lot of area, though, so that's good. They're just obviously thicker than the hope tracts, so even carrying three times as much doesn't cut it timewise.
After a bit of not knowing what to do with us, the day picked up. The Kunitachi team came and joined us on the south side, and I talked to a few people there, including an English major who's Chinese that I'm going to meet for Bible Study tomorrow! I also talked to a meter reader who's going to a Mormon church. Tried to warn her against it and gave her a hope tract.
After the Kunitachi team left and the Hachioji team replaced them, I went downstairs with Michael. He talked to a few people and introduced me to a woman, Haneda, who had an interest in a Bible study, but sounded like she was scared of what her husband might think about her doing a Bible study.
Then some pimps came to stand by us, and that was bad for business...so Michael gave them some tracts then we all went to the north side. Weren't kicked off or bothered or anything. I talked to a high school girl, a hairdresser handing out flyers, and two humongous guys who didn't speak English, but were cool. We gave them gospels of John and hope tracts and they even shouted out to help our business for a second. It was really funny.
After that, we four who remained hung out in krispy kreme until our appointments with contacts. Riddles- including a crazy one about an albatross and a man committing suicide. Caleb, Rebekah, and I met with Takahito. He was fun. Michael met with a mother and her son- the mother being a Christian. The son accepted Christ! Praise God.
We homestayers watched The Uninvited for our Friday night movie. Actually pretty tight.
Anyway, busy, fruitful week. Praise God! I'm just hanging out today. May go exploring here in Tachikawa just to do something. We'll see.
I have never laughed so much reading a blog!!!! Mom and i wanna know, what level of awesome are you?
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