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I found this story and like it but am wondering if there is a hidden meaning about nature or perhaps how the japanese feel about nature.Any comments?
here is the link: http://www.sacred-texts.com/shi/kwaidan/kwai13.htm
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Its a fariy tale. I guess there is no hidden meaning really.
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I think there is a little bit of hidden meaning, at least to folks who are not familiar with Buddhist works like the Jataka Tales. The girl was/is a tree spirit or Deva. In the Jataka tales both the Buddha and Bodhisattva who is primary to the stories are shown to have lived as plant spirits in past lives. I recall reading a story about a tree and the rush grass, but I cannot find it online.
It is interesting to note that monks were not allowed to cut down trees in some traditions, in others they were required to ask the Tree Spirit to find a new abode before they did. I think this is less a Japanese attitude and more of a Buddhist one. Perhaps it was written in order to illustrate how devastating the destruction of life can be, even trees, to Japanese Samurai who may have viewed in a rather cavalier manner. In this sense, it may reflect a need for a more respectful view of nature that the author found lacking in Japanese society, which seems, at least from a certain perspective, to honor the garden more than the wild.
Just a thought.
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we should cherish the planet. trees included.After all, we are living on this planet together.
Last edited by purehappiness (2010-03-05 19:45:45)
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lowonthetotem wrote:
I think there is a little bit of hidden meaning, at least to folks who are not familiar with Buddhist works like the Jataka Tales. The girl was/is a tree spirit or Deva. In the Jataka tales both the Buddha and Bodhisattva who is primary to the stories are shown to have lived as plant spirits in past lives. I recall reading a story about a tree and the rush grass, but I cannot find it online.
It is interesting to note that monks were not allowed to cut down trees in some traditions, in others they were required to ask the Tree Spirit to find a new abode before they did. I think this is less a Japanese attitude and more of a Buddhist one. Perhaps it was written in order to illustrate how devastating the destruction of life can be, even trees, to Japanese Samurai who may have viewed in a rather cavalier manner. In this sense, it may reflect a need for a more respectful view of nature that the author found lacking in Japanese society, which seems, at least from a certain perspective, to honor the garden more than the wild.
Just a thought.
With the Japanese Buddhist thing we have to keep in mind that when it comes to cutting trees inaugurating new buildings etc those physical matters all have a very heavy Shinto aspect to the point where it is Buddhist just because we wear Buddhist robes and do a couple of Buddhist incantations but mostly invoke Kami and still offer rice, salt and sake.
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I just received this email that shows how the japanese have reverence for trees.
The Passing of an Icon
Greetings to all readers,
Last night, a bit of history passed on.
I live in Kamakura, about an hour by train south of Tokyo. Kamakura was established as the seat of the military government in 1192 by Yoritomo Minamoto, the first of the Minamoto Shogun. Their main shrine, Tsurugaoka Hachimangu, a family shrine to the god of war, is one of the main attractions of Kamakura to this day.
At the base of the stairs leading to the shrine itself has stood for 1000 years a ginkgo tree, gnarled yet tall and proud. In January of 1219, a monk named Kugyo stood in waiting behind that tree, jumping out and assassinating his uncle, the 3rd Minamoto Shogun, Yoritomo’s second son Sanetomo. It was always interesting to tell this story on site, and punctuate it by saying, “And this is the tree from behind which he jumped!” A thousand years old. My, what that tree has seen pass.
And, as all things do, that tree itself passed, blown down last night by strong March winds, its rotted root system no longer strong enough to withstand them. It was, at the time of its demise, 30.5 meters high. This old, lonely, withered tree made national news here in Japan. Miko (female attendants at Shinto shrines, sometimes considered shamanistic) scattered salt in purification rituals. A long-written page of history was finally turned for good.
What does this have to do with sake? Nothing; absolutely nothing. But the significance of the event has made me want to note the passing of that great spirit.
Enjoy the newsletter, and enjoy some sake as well.
Let me take this chance to remind you about the first Sake World app for the iPhone, the iPhone version of The Sake Dictionary. Be sure to check it out.
Warm regards,
John
Last edited by purehappiness (2010-03-11 12:20:17)
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Last year at work they chopped down a beautiful 60 or 70 year old oak tree that I used to go and sit under for lunch sometimes. That was quite a shame. It was the only tree between two buildings and was at least 60 feet high. They did it on a long weekend and for nor reason that I can tell. That made me feel pretty bad. Now There is no where to sit anymore and enjoy yourself for lunch. I managed to grab a few small pieces of wood from the tree that I found at it base and am going to try and carve something from them in memoriam of that great tree. People don't understand sometimes I guess.
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Nice story purehappiness,
I refer to your personal story about the tree. I can relate to your words. A place without trees feels dead. When I was a child growing up in England (though I am Canadian now and have been for many years) I was lucky to have a 3 acre field behind my house which I played in. I also would spend hours in the woods beyond them. Anyways, as a child, I did not understand adult motivations, such as profit, property, etc. So, in a sense, the field was mine. Or so I viewed it. It was a kind of companion, a sort of place where the world of the imaginary and the the outside world met in harmony. I know it left and lasting stamp on me that can never be removed. Without knowing it, this place was spiritual sanctuary, a place of refuge, play and exploration. Once school time was over, I would always go to my field.
Well, as you may expect, it did not end well. Eventually the so-called owners of the field decided that trees and long grasses were of little profit, so they sent in the machines and ripped the place apart. Being a sneaky little anarchist, I snuck out one night and hid the workers tools. Lets just say there was no dinner that night and the grownups eventually got me to relent. I always feel bad that I did, but as a child you have very little power, or at least you think you do. Eventually the field was torched, the trees were chopped, and all that was left was a flat, desolate place. I can remember piles of burnt roots, branches and leaves that seemed to me like great funeral pyres. The images still come to me. Maybe the idea of a 'tree spirit' or a spirit that governs an area, such as the field from my childhood, seems absurd to western ears, but one thing is for sure, these places have an effect on our spirits.
Sorry for the long ramble there. I just felt bad about your tree. I have had many such lost friends.
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purehappiness wrote:
I just received this email that shows how the japanese have reverence for trees.
Japan’s supposed reverence for trees has been sorely tested in the last 50 years by their love of golf. Since the 1950s the number of golf courses in Japan has increased from roughly 50 to more than 2300 today. This boom has been a major cause of deforestation as well as environmental problems owing to the increased use of germicides, herbicides, and pesticides that golf courses require. Under the Nakasone administration, the Diet passed the “Resort Law” which gave permission to convert agricultural land and land in forest preservation areas to golf course and other resort use and abolished regulations which protect agricultural land and land in forest preservation areas. Fore!
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The world is changing(for the worse). I used to love to play in the woods when I was younger. Of course, I never really thought like this about my environment but it went without saying. I think as children we have a much better sense of how things should be. A place without ego's, profit margins, etc...
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Our shakuhachi had there own spirit once too. So, when we play we are paying our respects to that spirit.Thats a nice way to think of it at least.
I think it comes down to finding that true connection with all life.
Last edited by purehappiness (2010-03-11 10:41:16)
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Kaya trees , used to make Shogi and Go boards , have rituals as Gishin described when a living tree is cut down. There are so few large tress left that these days only dead ones can be taken.
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One of the best things about the Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples in Japan is that they do revere the big old trees and tend to keep them on the temple or shrine grounds. With the passing of that resort law, as Rick noted with his comment on the devastation caused by golf courses, it is often only the shrines and temples that preserve the trees. When new houses or neighborhoods are created in my prefecture, mountain or hill tops are often lopped off (as there is no more flat land) and all the trees are cut down. Kochi prefecture is the prefecture with the highest percentage of forest land (over 70%?) but that is primarily monoculture cedars, as most of the original forest was cut down in the mid-twentieth century.
Last edited by Daniel Ryudo (2010-03-11 21:56:10)
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ah golf ... the anti-sport
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