from a spanish monastery

From a Spanish MonasteryAuthor(s): Gensho HozumiSource: Buddhist-Christian Studies, Vol. 10 (1990), pp. 196-200Published by: University of Hawai'i PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1390202 .

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196 NEWS AND NOTES

seed of communion. A seed which has in itself the yearning to grow. The fact of having discovered ourselves as brothers should grow into discovering together the Father. This is the challenge that we Catholic monks have in front of us. But this is an imposing reality that is far beyond our understanding and our strength. Only by seeking God alone, looking only to Jesus up on the Cross, and entrusting them to Mary, "Mother also of the Buddhists," will the way to follow open itself, day by day, in front of us.

From A Spanish Monastery GENSHO HOZUMI Hanazono University

In the past, a Zen monk in Japan was not allowed to enter a Christian monastery. But now in the latter half of our century, entry has been realized. So, eight years ago I had the chance to officially participate in the communal life of the Catholic monks of a Trappist monastery in Belgium. My memory of that experience is still extremely vivid even today, and it still exercises a great influence on my own life. That experience was not just concerned with a Buddhist-Christian dialogue. Rather, apart from the dialogue, it entailed a struggle or an encounter with myself in the matter of living my own life as a human being.

I would be more than honored if my experience, as a Zen monk at the end of the twentieth century, of the Catholic monastic life in the traditional European monasteries could contribute something to the global spiritual culture of the twenty-first century. Today, I am living with this great vision and task in my mind. And I was recently able to renew my participation in the Catholic monastic life-this time for two weeks at a Benedictine monastery near Barce- lona, Spain. Let me deliver a brief report on my new experience.

We, my disciple Genkai Sugimoto and I, flew from Narita Airport over to Amsterdam. It took just twelve hours by a nonstop flight. What a convenient time in which we live! After having fully enjoyed the beauty of nature and the rural landscapes in Northern Europe, we then flew to Barcelona, Spain. This was our first visit to Spain. At the airport, two brothers received us and took us with them to the monastery. It was fine weather, and the warm sunlight was impressive. After about a one-hour drive, we began seeing a large rocky mountain ahead of us. The brother driving the car told us to fix our eyes just about halfway up the mountain to find the monastery. There we saw the famous Mon- astery of Montserrat! We were surprised at the huge mysterious shape of this rocky mountain. The monastery was located at the halfway point, 700 meters above the sea level, of this rocky mountain which is itself 1,200 meters high. At last, we were about to enter this famous old Monastery of Montserrat.

A heavy door was opened. And we were given a warm welcome by the Abbot. I felt at ease in meeting his gentle look. It was the first time for this



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monastery to accept Zen monks as visiting members. From this day, we started the two-week practice of communal monastic life together with the Catholic monks. So we were first given our individual rooms like the other monks. Each was a simple room with a desk and bed. Mine was a room on the third floor commanding a fine view. Ninety monks, who vary in age from nineteen to ninety-three, are living together in this monastery.

The next morning we got up at 5:30 A.M. And at the signal of a bell at 5:40 A.M., we all gathered together at the cathedral to observe the first prayers of the day that started at 6:00 A.M. After that, we returned to our private rooms to say personal prayers. At 7:15 A.M., we observed morning prayers again in the cathedral, and this was followed by a breakfast of bread and milk. After that was the time for manual labor. At 11:00 A.M., we attended Mass along with a multitude of lay worshipers-a custom peculiar to this monastery at Montser- rat. In the afternoon as well, the monastics observed the hours of prayer and labor methodically. Since this traditional monastery stressed the practice of silence, the atmosphere was quiet.

The oldest building (although a small one) within the precincts of this monastery is a chapel. I conducted zazen, or sitting Zen meditation, together with the Catholic monks for the first time in my life in this beautiful old chapel built 1,000 years ago. This was something I had never expected to occur. At first, three or four monks sat together with us every morning from 9:00 to 10:30. But by the end of our visit, the Catholic participants were thirteen-the maximum number that the chapel could accommodate.

There is a boys' choir in the monastery, and at present, fifty boys from ages ten to fourteen are living together to study in the monastery school. At the center of their repertory were hymns they were learning to sing under the direction of a monk. I felt something very pure and innocent in their uniform appear- ance in black gowns and white clothes. I visited and made friends with them. An old priest conducted their singing of the hymns. The movement of his hands was very soft, which, in harmony with the boys' juvenile spirits, appeared all the more beautiful. The Spanish people seem to be happy and open-minded, or I might say cheerful. Is this due to the Spanish climate? Every day seems clear and fine, and their personalities are also like the climate. One day a monk showed me around the work places within the walls of the monastery. One of them was a lithographer's office. There the monks explained to me in detail how to produce lithographs. Also, I visited a printing office and was surprised at its full-scale system. Finally, I was introduced into a pottery shop. By these visitations, I came to know a bit more about the independent arrange- ment of the monastery's economy. Since the Monastery of Montserrat is located in the midst of a rocky mountain, there is no agrarian field up there. So they have to purchase food from a nearby monastery built in a more rural area.

Also it seems that this monastery is flourishing as a sightseeing attraction. In front of it were hotels, the monastery museum, and souvenir shops for tourists. Yet, there is a severe rule that no ordinary person be permitted inside of the



198 NEWS AND NOTES

monastery where the monks live. So because of this, the long corridor within the precincts of the monastery is just for the monks to stroll. They would come and go along this corridor several time a day while keeping silent in their encounters with each other on the way. However, I sensed that in their silence, they would give one another warm-hearted looks.

One evening after a rain, the nearby trees were fresh and green. The air was a little chilly but still comfortable. I took a walk in back of the monastery after the evening prayers. The Abbot was meditating while walking in a square located on top of a hill. Toward evening, many of the monks spent time read- ing the Scriptures while walking outdoors here and there. I liked this scene very much, and I was better able to understand their quiet monastic life against the background of this quiet evening meditation. I perceived that for the monastics, this was the time to give thanks to God. This was of course my own personal perception as aJapanese Zen Buddhist who for the first time in his life was permitted to enter and stay in the Monastery of Montserrat. But it has had a strong repercussion in my inner life ever since. This scene is still inscribed deep in my mind as an unforgettable memory.

The Abbot himself seemed to be observing the overall monastic scene as he walked, and I supposed he probably could not help praying for a peaceful end- ing of each day at the monastery. That night at a communal meeting after din- ner, the Abbot introduced us to all the members of the Montserrat community with a detailed explanation of our visit. After that, the monks began approach- ing us to talk one by one. Accordingly, our monastic life became all the more enjoyable.

Several days after this incident, I had an especially refreshing morning. I opened the windows of my room and let the chill of early dawn come in abun- dantly. The mountain on the east side could only be dimly seen. The mountain far off in front of my room and some trees down here at the monastery were forming a beautiful contrast in silhouette. And when I looked down, there were the twinkling lights of the town below. A serene moment! Then a cock or two, raised in the monastery, crowed. That brought this beautiful dawn to an even higher pitch.

Before long, the bell of the chapel rang to awaken everybody throughout the monastery. Here in this monastic community, people were very punctual. Even long before the morning prayers began, monks had already been meditating silently in the cathedral. This kind of atmosphere could not be found anywhere except in a monastery. Also, I did notice that the aged monks would meditate at an early hour, but the younger ones were often in haste to be barely in time for the morning communal meditation.

After Mass was over, my disciple and I climbed up along a rocky mountain trail to a place called "Santa Cruz," or "Holy Cross." The view on our way was terrific and we walked for perhaps forty to fifty minutes. At Santa Cruz, on top of the mountain, was a hermitage built of natural rocks. There, a monk named



NEWS AND NOTES 199

Basil Girbau was living the monastic life in retirement by himself. He said that before his retirement he had been living at Montserrat for forty-four years. He further disclosed that in the beginning, he had been in the boys' choir. This year happened to be the seventh anniversary of his seclusion in the cavern. His age was sixty-two, but he was in good physical shape.

Of course, one cannot enter into a monastic hermitage without the Abbot's permission. And it did not seem to be the case that everyone could get this permission. However, the elder monk seemed to have a considerable interest in Zen, and at one point abruptly asked me to let him practice zazen with me. Fortunately, in his cavern he had a zafu, or a cushion used in sitting Zen meditation. It was rather worn out, and I sensed he must have almost used it up. So we began practicing zazen together. All of a sudden the cavern became the training center for a Zen monk and a Christian monk in seclusion, sitting meditation in unity. A pure atmosphere prevailed in the cavern.

I do not want to brag that this was the encounter of the century; and yet I was truly moved by the fact that a Buddhist and a Christian were encountering each other in this crucial manner. What might have been going on in the minds of the two Christian monks who showed us-my disciple and myself-into this cavern? After zazen was over, this monastic trainee in seclusion showed me a book and said, "This is a Spanish introduction to the Hannya Shingyo, or Wis- dom-Heart Sutra. " So he, together with me, recited the Hannya Shingyo. I was really astonished at this unusual outcome.

I was also astonished to find that on the wall of the cavern was hanging a set of the "Ten Oxherding Pictures" depicting a ten-stage process of Zen awaken- ing. Also, in a vase were arranged some flowers that he must have brought back from the mountain. And, to my further astonishment, the kakemono of a Chi- nese poem in the corner attracted my attention. He even created a small-scale stone wall, as if reminiscent of a Zen stone garden, in front of the cavern. It was located in the best possible place commanding a fine view and near enough to hear the bells of the monastery below when they rang at regular hours.

The hermit then went to the water tank up in the mountain to draw water and prepared the table for us. He served us herb tea and rice cooked with ketchup. No electricity was available in this cavern so the hermit was living by the light of candles and a lamp. His heater was just a wood stove. All that I was able to find on his desk was a statue of Christ and a Bible. He has some other books in the cavern, which turned out to be dictionaries. He disclosed in reply to my question that he was a theologian and that he was working on a book. I thought to myself that it would be hard to live a monastic life in seclusion.

Then I asked him, "You had been a member of the monastic community of Montserrat for forty-four years before entering into the present seclusion of this cavern. What, then, brought you to this new decision?" He kept silent for awhile; but at last he replied, "There is neither a particular reason nor a great purpose for me in this matter. However, I only have an inmost desire to train



200 NEWS AND NOTES

myself in this cavern." I sensed his confidence in these emphatic words. What he wanted to say was this: "There is, indeed, existence per se that needs this lonely practice."

He went on to refer to the story of an Alpine mountain climber who, when asked about the reason for his mountaineering, replied: "Because there is the mountain over there before me." This mountain climber would risk his own life to climb up a mountain. There would be no reason for him to do so. What he has in mind is just a challenge to the mountain as it actually exists over there before him. The hermit's life is not an easy one in view of the inner struggle that might be going on in his mind in the midst of practicing this way. "He must be pursuing the same steep Way as has been trodden before by his prede- cessors," I thought. A kind of aura was discernible around him since he was so single-mindedly immersed in the practice of the Way. When we were about to leave, he said gently, "Should we ever meet again in the future, I would be very eager to have a Zen mondo (question and answer) with you." The encounter of this monk in his cavern became an unforgettable memory for me.

Thus, my life in the Spanish monastery allowed me to experience various things. This sort of encounter would be attributable, in part, to the demand of our time. However, it must also be a realization of how earnestly our precursors had already striven for the spiritual advancement of humankind in the long process of history. Our encounter at present can only come into existence based upon the accumulation of their efforts. In this sense, the encounter between East and West in general, and the Buddhist-Christian encounter in particular, must be considered a necessary avenue leading into the twenty-first century. Accordingly, it is a very significant event.

Japanese Buddhists in the Monastery of Montserrat GENKAI SUGIMOTO Shofuku-ji

During the Third East-West Spiritual Exchange, Japanese Buddhists were invited to take their turn to stay at Catholic monasteries in Europe. Accord- ingly, a group of twenty-nine Japanese Zen monks and nuns first went to Amsterdam, and then were sent separately to nine monasteries in six European countries to visit and exchange experiences and ideas. The Monastery of Mont- serrat in Spain, where H6zumi Roshi-one of the executive committee members on theJapanese side-and I stayed, is located within an hour's drive from the Spanish harbor of Barcelona on the Mediterranean Sea. Barcelona is the sec- ond largest city in Spain, and is famous for fostering many Spanish artists.

The monastery is situated about halfway up Mt. Montserrat. It is cool there even during the summer, and fortunately has no noxious insects. Further, Montserrat is a place commanding a fine view. This mountain is very different



from a spanish monastery

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