I did not know this was here and didn’t go looking for it. While searching for something else on Google Maps, I saw these words, in red: “The place where Dogen passed away.” I went to pay my respects.
That is my Snickers bar. A couple was here before me and, as they were leaving, they picked up the offerings they had made. I saw a sign that said to take away any offerings brought. While I’d not made an “offering” at any other shrine, I thought it fitting to do so here. A small Snickers bar was all I had. I set it there, bowed, picked it up and left. I intended no humor. I’ve seen all sorts of things left at shrines in Japan – beer cans, plastic flowers, sticks of gum.
I was also drawn to the site due to its surroundings. It was not a street that would have any other tourist draw; no temples, no cafés, no pastry shops. Had I walked by it without knowing what it was I would not have paid it any mind. There are so darn many of these shrines and markers all over that one simply cannot stop to examine them all. The place had all the looks of a deteriorating streetscape. The sign itself is peeling away. Notably, the Kyoto City sign indicates his death at age 54. This does not coincide with other versions saying he was 53. Perhaps they use a different dating system. If not, how could they get this simple fact wrong, especially on a monument to his life and death? It’s not a big deal. Just curious.
I suppose it is a fitting enough tribute to one of Japan’s most prominent historical spiritual figures. He likely would not have wanted this much. Of his enlightenment experience he said, “I have dropped off body and mind.” In any event, his lasting legacy is the Eihei-ji monastery and, more importantly, his writings, which can be as brilliant as they are often obscure, at least to a novice like myself.
Autumn In Japan 