SEP. 2009

No.66

LIVING GUIDE MORIOKA
MORIOKA INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS ASSOCIATION〒 020-8531 MORIOKA-SHI WAKAZONO-CHO 2-18
TEL 019-626-7524

e-mail moriintl@nifty.com
http://www.e-morioka.com/~moriintl/top.html

Hands-on Experience of Japanese Culture
through Zazen , Shojinryori and Jodo
Zazen ？
Zazen is one of the major ascetic practices
originating in ancient Indian Buddhism.
"za " means to sit down and "zen " means tocontemplate. So Zazen means to sit down anddo the ascetic practice of contemplation. In Zen
Buddhism, which is one of the Buddhist sects,
zen is a meditation that is considered as animportant ascetic practice.
T o p r a c t i c e Zazen , b r e a t h e s l o w l y t ocompose yourself and concentrate to look
into yourself. Recently Zazen is introduced to
employee education programs of companies
for developing employeesʼ concentration andendurance.
○ How we doZazen ?
1 Place a zabuton cushion on the ﬂoor andput smaller cushion on top of it. Sit onthem with your legs crossed.
2 There are two ways to cross your legs;"Kekkafuza " ‒ Cross your legs and put
your right foot on your left thigh andleft foot on your right thigh ‒ and"Hankafuza " ‒ Cross your legs and put oneof your feet on the thigh of the otherleg.

Kekkafuza
3

Hankafuza

Position your hands in either"Hokkaijouin "or "Hakuinryu " (see theillustrations below) and control yourbreath.

Hakuinryu

Hokkaijouin
45Straighten yourself and see if your weightis placed on the center of your body.
Don't close your eyes. Keep them half
open and look 45 degrees downward.

45°

A Buddhist monk walks around, holding awooden stick called "keisaku ." If he notices
you falling asleep (!) or moving he will tap youon the shoulder to wake you up or warn you
against losing concentration.
You may ask for keisaku to caution yourself.
When you are going to have keisaku, join yourpalms together in front of you (gassho ) andlean your head leftward so that the keisaku will
tap your right shoulder muscle. After the monkgives you a tap of keisaku , join your palms
together again to express your appreciation tothe monk.

"Gassho"Join your palms together.

Shojinryori ？
Shojinryori is an elaborately preparedcuisine of vegetables, beans and grains. It isa vegetarian cuisine created for monks, as
Buddhism prohibited monks from killing
creatures and eating their meat in ancient
times. "“Shojin " means to follow the Buddhist
teachings faithfully. The traditional cuisine
is also meant to think about "lives" throughfoods.
In China there is a cuisine known as "modoki "or mock cuisine, in which vegetable

ingredients are cooked into foods thatappear to be made from animal-derived
ingredients. For example "konnyaku (devil'stongue)" is prepared to make a food shaped
like cooked squid or shrimp, and shiitake orother mushrooms are cooked to create a foodsimilar to abalone which is cooked in soup or
sauteed.

Jodo ？
You may have heard of such Japanesemartial arts as Kendo and Judo , but Jodo may
be a new word to you.
It refers to a martial art in which you dodge asword attack by usinga stick. It is one of themartial arts known as"kata budo ," in which
you practice patterns byreasonably combining
oﬀ ense and defense,
aiming at enlighten

yourself spiritually.
Japanese martial arts are profound, aren't
they?
It is said that in Jodo you change yourmovements in accordance with the opponent's
oﬀ ense, not harming but punishing andreproving the opponent.
There are 12 basic movements which areperformed by one or two people as well as 12
basic patterns which are performed by two topractice oﬀense and defense.

Try Zazen, Shojinryori and Jodo all together in one program!
「Japanese Culture Program ‒ Zazen, Shojinryori and Jodo」
Time/Date: 10:30am, Sun. September 27, 2009
Meet at the entrance of Hotline Sakanacho (in front of McDonald's)
Schedule：10:30 Meet at McDonald's. Walk to Choshoin.
10:50 Arrive at Choshoin. Practice Zazen.
12:00 Enjoy Shojinryori.
For more information visit
the website;
12:30 Walk to Budokan.
http://www.e-morioka.com/~moriintl
13:00 Try Jodo.
/JPN%20bunka%20kouza/jodo.
15:00 Program ends.
pdf
Fee：￥1,000 for adults：￥500 for students
Contact (phone): 019-626-7524 (Japanese only)
Email: moriintl@nifty.com （Japanese or English）

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