OBACHAN'S SCRIBBLES

Looks like I always feel the urge to start or re-start something at this time of the year, every year. It’s no surprise, because the climate is nice -- not too cold, not too hot--, trees and grasses are in fresh green, and I’m usually feeling better after the cedar pollen allergy is gone.

So what kind of urge am I feeling this year? Well, the other day, I re-started my habit of going walking about twice a week. Also I'm planning to spend some time painting a watercolor this weekend. You know it’s such a shame… I have a couple of hobbies that should make myself feel better when I’m too stressed or feeling weak, but I usually don’t feel like doing any of them when I am actually stressed or feeling weak.

Anyway, another thing I started recently is something I’ve always wanted to do: it’s learning about Buddhism and especially, the Hannya Shingyo (the Heart Sutra). Strange, ha? Or you think obachan is really getting older and obachan-like? (That’s the image the majority of people have here in Japan. They think Buddhism and sutra are for elders only.) Well, I AM getting older, like everyone else, but I don’t think my interest in the sutra is so much based on the worries about my health or my future.

As you know, I’ve been blogging about (and by doing so re-discovering and re-appreciating) the customs and traditions here in my home prefecture, which are, in other words, things I always had around me but didn’t actively see. And everytime I blog about our religious customs, I wonder what kind of wishes, or prayers, or wisdom inspired people to start such customs. When I visit temples to blog about the ceremonies there, I always hear about Hannya Shingyo sutra which is said to express the essence of the great wisdom in only 262 characters. So what kind of wisdom is it? This curiosity has been in the corner of my mind for several years, and for some reason, now my inner voice says, “Let’s start learning.” When it happens, it happens. So I guess you are going to see posts about this sutra on this blog once in a while. :)