Rev. Gustav Ericsson (Sweden) is a Christian priest in the Lutheran Church of Sweden. After being ordained in 2010, he served as a hospital priest at the regional University Hospital of Umea in northern Sweden and at a hospice for palliative care. He is especially trained in pastoral counseling for crisis and grief, and one of his main interests is the meeting of meditation practice with pastoral care. He has practiced and studied Zen since the mid 1990’s and in 2004 received Dharma transmission from Japanese Soto Zen teacher Gudo Nishijima Roshi. Since 2010, he has also served as a counseling priest with the Lutheran Church’s national suicide prevention hotline, which is available by telephone through the national emergency number as well as chat rooms and mailbox online.
Rev. Soin Fujio (Rinzai Zen) in Yokosuka & Kamakura
What first struck me with Rev. Fujio was that I could sense his friendliness and lack of concern with prestige. It was easy to listen to him and be around him. It is interesting to note how important this first impression is. I am sure it has served him well in his councelling work. The second thing that really impressed me was his creativity. Knowing a bit about Rinzai Zen, it was wonderful to see how playful he was with different forms of practice. Everything was not about sitting zazen and pushing oneself through discomfort. There was standing zen (立禅 do-zen), moving zen (動禅 do-zen), laying down zen (卧禅 ga-zen). Much more accessible, I would assume, to more people.
A concrete thing that I am really taking with me from our days with Rev Fujio is the hand carved figures, which he does by himself, and the hand written letters, which he does with the Association of Buddhist Priests Confronting Self-death and Suicide. It seems that technology and the overall speed of things in the world is pushing even spiritual and counseling services to faster digital forms in many places. Rev. Fujio and his colleagues are going in a different direction in their counseling service, responding to letters with thoughtful hand written letters that the recipient can keep for many years and read again and again.
Our days in Kamakura also made me reflect more on the role of beauty, especially so regarding the layout of the temple garden. Before entering the temple, the visitor will pass through the garden, which will probably have a calming effect on the mind. And I think it goes deeper, or higher, than that too. Sensing beauty, appreciating beauty, can also nurture a sense of awe, and, I think, a sense of hope that beauty and goodness is also real and possible in this world.
Then, of course, I want to mention the VR counseling. I am so moved by his efforts to reach young adults and children who would not go to a temple or call a help line. Very impressive to see how well it works, and even to be able to try it out. Very inspiring, and I hope to use this inspiration to develop our digital chat counseling in Sweden further.
Rev. Ittetsu Nemoto (Rinzai Zen) in Gifu
Similarly, it was lovely to meet with Rev. Nemoto. Beginning with a visit to his training temple, Shogen-ji 正眼寺, helped me understand more of his background and the path of discipline that he comes from. His life is a compelling combination of that Rinzai Zen training and a personality that seems to lean in another more loose and playful direction. From, or through, those intertwined sides of his life, I got the impression that a great heart of compassion flows. So boundless that it has taken a serious toll on his health. I much appreciate his openess to share with us about his life and background.
One of the memorable things we did was shopping for our last meal, an activity that was part of the death workshop called The Departure (旅だち tabidachi). It was so funny and brilliant how such an ordinary, everyday activity could be transformed into an existential experience. It was also impressive how such a seemingly simple exercise could bring the group together, as we later on shared the food we had bought and why we had chosen it for our last meal. I am considering how to incorporate something like this in future retreats that I hold here in Sweden.
I have done similar worksops that included a vision board previously, but what I especially appreciated with Rev. Nemoto’s way of doing it was the lack of direction and instructions: Bring photos. Ok what kind of photos? No more information. And how are we supposed to organize the vision board? No more instruction than it shoud somehow be about my life. The lack of specifics in the instructions brought me into an open creative space in a different way than if the instructions would have been more detailed. I will consider how to incorporate this too into the retreats I do.
The death workshop was just brilliant and very moving. The mixture of narrative and silence. The space to find words to say when my bedside nurse held my dying hand. And the funeral ceremony, which in a Christian context in Sweden could be the funeral prayer that is often sung at the end of services. For me, it is interesting to note that the part that stays most clearly in my memory is when we lit small candles and carried them with us in the fading light of dusk on the walk up on the small hill to a Shinto shrine. I am not sure why, but this made a strong impression on me. I am considering how to incorporate something like this into our retreats.
Perhaps a silly thing to mention in this report, but I am thinking of the glass of wine that Ven. Nemoto offered me one evening. I guess he knew that the other participants did not drink alcohol. It was such a nice gesture, also saying that it is ok that we are a bit different. A kind way of connecting and showing hospitality. And the wine tasted great!
Sotto, the Kyoto Self-Death & Suicide Counseling Center
Recently, I have looked through my notes from the different meetings I have had with religious representatives who are also engaged in different kinds social issues and projects in order to see what patterns there are regarding how to make social engagement financially possible. In this regard, Rev. Takemoto and the Sotto organization really stands out with dedication and will power to make the organization sustainable through the founding the company Tera Energy. This is the only such organization I have come in contact with that simultaneously runs an energy company to fund socially engaged efforts. It is very inspiring, and it must really take a wide set of skills to be able to pull it off.
The comic book about phone counseling that Sotto has published also stands out to me. So brilliant! Perhaps it might seem silly at first glance, but in the long run it could really be important to use creative means to sort of make it cool to help and support others when they are suffering. What do young peoples’ heroes look like? What is cool? What is a role model for people growing up in the world today? I think this comic book might be more important than we can see right now, and I am very happy that they are paving the way for initiatives like this.
I am deeply touched by Sotto’s clearly defined approach of “warmly sitting beside” someone who is suffering. Absolutely beautiful and powerful. And I think there is power in having it so clearly expressed. It raises questions to myself and what I am doing and communicating—am I clear enough about this? Also, this clarity in approach has led me to reflect on its relation to faith in Amida Buddha, which has interesting parallells to Christian faith. This is a new found interest and set of questions that I believe will stay with me for many years.
The deck of playing cards about death, produced by Sotto, has already ben used in conversations over here in Sweden, and several of our deacons are exploring it and considering how something similar could be used in our context in the Church of Sweden. I especially appreciate how the cards have such a wide variety of images from different cultures, even seemingly strange ones with, for example, a striptease at a funeral.
Last, but certainly not least, I am taking with me deep impressions from the training of volunteers through intense role play. I have for many years proposed that the training for priests and deacons in Sweden should include much more role play. It is something completely different than reading books and discussing ideas. From our days in Kyoto, I feel strengthened in this conviction and will hold the Sotto organization as a shining example of this.
Finally, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to Jonathan Watts who led us through this amazing and truly inspiring week, and to Rev. Shojun Okano and Kodosan Temple for supporting this work through the International Buddhist Exchange Center (IBEC).
