Japanese monk sings rap to bring Buddhism to young audience

[Christoff]

[floatl][/floatl]Tokyo, Japan -- A Japanese Buddhist monk is getting down with rap music. Kansho Tagai, aka Happiness Kansho or Mr Happiness, learned to rap at the age of 47, and the shaven-headed chief monk of Tokyo's Kyooji temple is doing a pretty good job of opening the religious doors to young fans.

"I came to this world to help you out of suffering. My name is Shaka Munibutsu (Gautama Siddhartha). Say baby, listen to me. Everyone's my cute baby. I'm here to help you out of suffering and pain.. ." Mr Happiness raps, blending Japanese and English phrases.

Bobbing and waving his arms, the robed monk reaches out from the stage to shake hands with his young audience. Fans surround him after the show asking for autographs and for snapshots with the famous rapper.

Tagai has succeeded in reaching out to the new audience by shedding the traditional Buddhist facade, which divided the religious leaders from potential followers.

"As missionaries of Buddha, we are putting up a wall in front of us," Tagai said in an interview at his temple in Tokyo's Shinjuku district. "We had to make ourselves accessible and wave people closer so that they can understand Buddha's words."


http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=44,5969,0,0,1,0

[Taro Toporific]

Kansho Tagai, aka Happiness Kansho or Mr Happiness, learned to rap at the age of 47, and the shaven-headed chief monk of Tokyo's Kyooji temple is doing a pretty good job of opening the religious doors...
http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php ... 69,0,0,1,0

[floatl][/floatl]
Happiness Kansho and his crew look like they practice what they preach.
[INDENT]
[/INDENT]

[Samurai_Jerk]

"Sings rap"?

[2triky]

Buddhist monks use hip hop, alcohol to attract followers
By Kyung Lah, CNN
January 21, 2010

Tokyo, Japan (CNN) -- Outside the 400-year-old Kyoouji Temple, Kansho Tagai, dressed in his traditional monk robes, paused and began a sutra. He bobbed his head and then broke into a lyrical rap.

"This is an old, old story, a fantasy and longing cosmology. Hey, hey, what's the story about? It's about the Buddha, yo. Hey brother, listen carefully! You got it? No? You don't? Okay, baby, no problem."

Tagai, or Mr. Happiness, as he prefers to be called, is delivering an ancient message to a hip hop beat. The monk hosts hip hop shows at his temple, drawing young people to a place that is traditionally filled with the elderly. His hip hop message is so popular that twice as many people now visit his temple.

"Buddha's doctrine is a treasure for us," Tagai said. "But we're not able to convey his wisdom to the people if we only stick with the old ways. So I try to use a new way to spread Buddha's doctrine. I want to spread Buddhism to the young by using the language they easily understand. Buddhism itself hasn't changed. It's just the way it's presented."

The ancient religion is in crisis, Tagai said, because monks are not reaching the young with a message that brings spiritual relief. The numbers support his fears. Japan is home to 75,000 temples, but those numbers are on the decline. The Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs reports that since 2000, hundreds of temples have closed every year.

Younger monks like Tagai are taking matters into their own hands, by trying to attract a new generation of Buddhists.

At the Monk Bar in Shinjuku, Zenshin Fujioka shakes up the house special. He pours a drink layered in red, yellow and pink, which he calls "heaven." His other special of the night is "hell," a spicy vodka mix that sticks with you for hours.

Never mind that Zenshin is a monk. Sutras are shaken and stirred at the Monk Bar.

"There's this image that monks sit deep in a mountain, training alone," Zenshin said. "But it's important that we come down into the secular world and live in modern society. An altar doesn't mean you have a temple. A temple is a place where people follow the faith and Buddha."

"This place is a temple," Zenshin said, wiping liquor off the bar.

To those who call the venue a gimmick, he said, "please visit my bar before judging."

As the bar filled with smoke and patrons one evening, Zenshin paused and rang his bell. The ancient sutras flowed forth, as customers listened.

Hardly anyone can follow the ancient Buddhist text, a Japanese that's so complicated, only monks are readily able to understand it. But Zenshin said the real religion happens as he pours the drinks, talking to his guests about their problems and soothing with the Buddhist texts.

"Buddhism for Japan is a religion you normally only experience at funerals," said patron Naoyuki Osano, who comes to the bar twice a week. "But the Buddhist philosophy is wonderful. It's great to have a place like this for us to learn about Buddhism."

[Samurai_Jerk]

The Heart Sutra in Modern Japanese

超スゲェ楽になれる方法を知りたいか?誰でも幸せに生きる方法のヒントだ。もっと力を抜いて楽になるんだ。苦しみも辛さも全てはいい加減な幻さ。安心しろよ。

この世は空しいモンだ。痛みも悲しみも最初から空っぽなのさ。この世は変わり行くモンだ。苦を楽に変える事だって出来る。汚れることもありゃ背負い込む事だってある。だから抱え込んだモンを捨てちまう事も出来るはずだ。

この世がどれだけいい加減かわかったか?苦しみとか病とか。そんなモンにこだわるなよ。見えてるものにこだわるな。聞こえるものにしがみつくな。

味や香りなんて人それぞれだろ?何のアテにもなりゃしない。

揺らぐ心にこだわっちゃダメさ。それが『無』ってやつさ。生きてりゃ色々あるさ。辛いモノを見ないようにするのは難しい。でも、そんなもんその場に置いていけよ。

先の事は誰にも見えねぇ。無理して照らそうとしなくていいのさ。見えない事を愉しめばいいだろ。それが生きてる実感ってヤツなんだよ。正しく生きるのは確かに難しいかもな。でも、明るく生きるのは誰にだって出来るんだよ。

菩薩として生きるコツがあるんだ。苦しんで生きる必要なんてねえよ。愉しんで生きる菩薩になれよ。全く恐れを知らなくなったらロクな事にならねえけどな。適度な恐怖だって生きていくのに役立つモンさ。

勘違いするなよ。非情になれって言ってるんじゃねえ。夢や空想や慈悲の心を忘れるな。それができりゃ涅槃はどこにだってある。

生き方は何も変わらねえ。ただ受け止め方が変わるのさ。心の余裕を持てば誰でもブッダになれるんだぜ。この般若を覚えとけ。短い言葉だ。

意味なんて知らなくていい。細けぇことはいいんだよ。苦しみが小さくなったらそれで上等だろ。

嘘もデタラメも全て認めちまえば苦しみは無くなる。そういうモンなのさ。今までの前置きは全部忘れても良いぜ。でも、これだけは覚えとけ。

気が向いたら呟いてみろ。心の中で唱えるだけでもいいんだぜ。

いいか、耳かっぽじってよく聞けよ?

『唱えよ、心は消え、魂は静まり、全ては此処にあり、全てを越えたものなり。』『悟りはその時叶うだろう。全てはこの真言に成就する。』

心配すんな。大丈夫だ。