2009年3月19日。平均年齢８５歳を超える宇陀市にある老人ホーム室生園で過ごした二時間は驚きだった。長い間様々な経験を幾度となくされてきた人々にとって、私たち外国人と出会うことはそんなに特別なことではなかったようだ。それでも、私たちWorld Campus Internationalのメンバーが歌
を披露させてもらった時には、彼らの顔に笑みがこぼれ喜びの声も聞くことができた。そして、その瞬間は私たちメンバーにとって、心が揺れ動く瞬間でもあった。
人の心が揺れ動かされるには、実はそんなに時間のかかるものではないように思う。高齢者や私たち自身の室生園の訪問でのことを思い出せば。歌や手と手を取り合うそういうシンプルなことが、人の心を動かすのだと思った。
2009年3月18日。
お世話になった吹田市のホストファミリーの皆さんにさよならを言わなければならなかったのは、とても名残惜しかったです。大都市の吹田市から、大自然に包まれた宇陀市へ。緑に包まれた宇陀村が、私たちを温かく迎え入れてくれました。
宇陀市での第一日目は、宇陀市の大自然の中をハイキングしました。もちろん、単にハイキングをするだけはなく、４チームに分かれて、剣玉ゲームや割り箸で豆をすくうゲーム等６つのゲームに挑戦をしながらの大自然の中でのハイキングを楽しみました。自然の中で心をリラックスさせ、なんともいえない大自然の風景を堪能し、ゲームで一喜一憂し、最高の青空の下で、最高の思い出をつくることができました。ただ一つ、なぜ「ハッピ ハッピ パンダ チーム」が負けたのかが良く分かりませんが・・・。
This is the Slideshow of our time in Uda City during our Feb. 2008 Tour!
On March 24th, the World Campus International participants had a lecture about Buddhism by a monk (who was also my host mother) and then took part in a series of presentations and discussions organized by the participants.
In the lecture given by Ms. Okazaki, she explained to us her view of Buddhism. Quite a few of the participants from western cultures were surprised that Buddhism should be considered a religion because they had heard Buddhists say it’s more a way of life than an organized religion back at home.
We learned that there are a lot of different forms of Buddhism and the one she is practicing is called Nembutsu Buddism which is based on the teachings of High Monk Shinran (1173-1262).
Shinran spread the teaching of the Nembutsu. The preaching of the absolute power of the other, that one need only trust entirely in Amida Buddha. He focused on the forty-eight vows of Amida and if we have faith in Amida, we have already been saved.
Taking the Nembutsu as an invocation of gratitude to the Buddha, he categorically denied practices of one’s own power as superfluous. He preached absolute reliance on power of the other (= Amida), such that one is saved when one achieves correct faith.
Afterwards we had presentations and discussions on other World Religions. Groups of 4 to 5 World Campus — Japan participants presented a certain religion to the others so that everyone had a basic understanding of those religions in order for us to talk about them. Those religions were Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Judaism as well as Buddhism.
Whenever possible in our discussions we did give people in our group who belonged to one of the discussed religions also a platform to explain their views of their own faith.
We also asked people about the stereotypes of different religions and discussed that some religions had bad media representation and can be misrepresented.
In this process we learned a lot about religions and how people from different ones can work together on a topic like religion with out having negative outcomes as seen so often in the world.
In the end we also gave people who are Atheist time to speak so they could share their views too.
After the discussions, everyone agreed that no one should have a bad view of someone because they have different faiths and that we should live together and respect other people’s values and belief systems.
It was a great day to be able to discuss a topic which is not easy in such a kind and friendly manner with people from all around the world including the local Japanese and we all learned much and did get a step closer to understanding global citizenship.
I wish that all religious leaders in the world could experience that what we did here in Uda City in Japan in our discussion about World Religions as it would really change their world as well.
(Daniel Gallion, Luxembourg )
March 29th was a day filled with song and dance. It began on a wonderful note with a “Share your skills” session among World Campus — Japan participants, which included a beautiful Ugandan song by Stephen. As with all music, knowledge of the language is not necessary to be able to understand the passion and beauty of the piece. Thank you Stephen!
In the afternoon we had the privilege of participating in a concert in Uda city. The concert itself was headlined by Mr. Tomoya Takaishi. Truthfully, none of the participants had ever heard of Mr. Takaishi before, but he was once a popular protest song singers in the 60’s. Although he had retired from mass music business a few decades earlier to lead a quiet life, the cozy gymnasium was still packed to the brim with his adoring fans.
Mr. Takaishi was quite the entertainer, often encouraging the audience to sing and clap along to certain portions of his well-known classics. This tactic was rather useful in keeping World Campus — Japan participants alert.
The best part of the concert was certainly when the children’s choir from the local Music Village were on stage. Their performance was indescribably adorable, especially when they swayed in unison as they sang. かわいいですね！ (How cute!)
Although it was his concert, Mr. Takaishi was kind enough to invite us up on stage to accompany him for a couple of songs, as he thought World Campus — Japan is the “Wind” to bring positive energy to the local community, while the community being the “Soil” for the changes to take place in.
A few verses of the always cheerful, “You are my sunshine” rejuvenated us. And our international group’s singing of the chorus of “Hana”, a traditional Japanese folk song, amazed the elderly crowd. Our contribution to the community event was rather small but enjoyable nevertheless. I was even able to fight through legions of rabid fans to snag an autograph!
(Guang Yeung, United States of America, Colorado)
