A group of old people had come from all over Japan to clean the main hall.
We were allowed to visit an ancient shogun hall, which was being renovated. We were the last people to see the faded paintings of tigers on the wall. They will be replaced with pictures that are actually visible without the aid of an infrared camera. We weren't allowed to take pictures of the Ryukoku students renovating the photos, nor the Noh stages, nor the shogun's sleeping quarters where Queen Elizabeth stayed when she came to Hongwanji. We did get a nice view of the outside of the tea house.
This morning we got to see a Shingon goma ceremony at Touji. There were a bunch of cups of rice, oil, and water laid out on a table which seemed to represent a spiritual plane. In the middle was a hearth which represented a Buddha. Sticks with the wishes of parishoners were thrown into the hearth and burned to purify them. I got a good picture of it.
We had our final Shingon class today. We learned about the Panopticon of life in a Kouyasan monastery. I drew some comparisons between the "race to the bottom" in Kouyasan Shingon and the Catholic Church. Both religions have a contest to see who can be the most traditional and faithful to past practices. It made me think of Wikipedia's central policy, which runs as follows: "If a rule prevents you from improving or maintaining Wikipedia, ignore it." I think this policy should apply to everything in life: "If a rule prevents you from making the world a better place, ignore it."
I don't think I could be a Japanese Buddhist monk.
Meanwhile, in America:
"I'm proud of the people who come to our rallies."
