Today we awoke to a new Mt. Koya. . . one that is covered in snow! Our first night sleeping in Japanese-style bedrooms seemed far too brief as we got to join the monks for their morning chants at 6:00 am. I made sure to arrive early to get a spot by the space heater which also allowed us to avoid walking pass the gong that is played very loud in the morning. The room that we sat in was dimly lit by candles, but that didn’t prevent us from seeing the elaborate gold and red objects that filled the room. After observing the chants, we enjoyed another tasty vegetarian meal. Monasteries sure know how to cook amazing tofu! While I do dearly miss my typical oatmeal, it has been fun getting to experience what other cultures eat for breakfast.
Due to only having heat in our bedrooms, a lot of us have realized how much we take heat for granted after our experiences with the monastic lifestyle. We were all questioning Japan’s fancy bidet toilets that have heated seats, but after one day here it all made sense!
After breakfast we had a lecture and then were off on our chilly mountain pilgrimage. We had several temples and museums to visit today and the blizzard didn’t stop us in the slightest. The coldest part about today was that we had to take our shoes off outside before going inside the temples, but numb toes added to the excitement of the pilgrimage. My favorite spot while temple-hopping was the Konpon Daito which means “The Great Stupa.” It’s bright orange coloring was so beautiful to see in the snow.
After visiting the temples and museums, the blizzard had subsided and it was time to warm up. We got some delicious noodles for lunch and some of us enjoyed some not so delicious pancakes, but really anything tastes good when it’s cold!
When it was time to brave the cold again we walked to the Mausoleum of Kobo Daishi who brought Buddhism from China to Japan. He is believed to still be alive in eternal meditation and is offered two meals daily. The path to the mausoleum winded through a huge graveyard that was placed amongst a bunch of old trees. They towered above everything and looked amazing cloaked in the snow from this morning.
Before making the long trek back to the monastery, we grabbed some snacks at a market in town because we have discovered that chocolate isn’t part of the typical monastic lifestyle. After such a long day we were excited to enjoy our sweets after another yummy traditional Buddhist meal. Just when we thought that we had experienced enough adventure for one day, it was time to tackle the Japanese tradition of public bathing. We were all a bit tentative at first, but it ended up being a great bonding experience! It felt great to put on our Japanese-style pajamas and relax in our warm rooms after our long day on the mountain.
