The Japanese Tozenji Buddhist Temple in Coquitlam, BC
About twenty years ago, I was a very young and naive student on a field trip to the Tojzenji Buddhist Temple in Coquitlam, BC. As a fundamentalist Christian at that time, I was interested in visiting a Buddhist temple, but uncertain of what I might do that could compromise my belief system. What happened was this: the students were led into a prayer hall and were instructed to bow to the altar and the statuette there. Each body bowed, but mine remained upright, eyes open. I felt a certain pride at being unwilling to be cowed by peer pressure, but also felt uneasy at the awkward position that had developed, as I did not want to offend anybody. Fortunately, the event turned out to be a real highlight of my school days, for after we all went downstairs to drink a traditional tea (which tasted terrible), a Japanese Buddhist monk wearing traditional garb taught me to count to ten in Japanese. I was proud that he had singled me out for this, and the trip, remembered from that moment as a pleasant one, stands out among my childhood memories.
For the last several months, I have been thinking about that temple. I had often thought that I knew Coquitlam reasonably well, but I thought it strange that I’d never come across the temple anywhere. I’d googled it, but the temple does not seem to have a website, although there is a Facebook page which appears not to be updated any longer. Finally, I decided that today would be the visiting day, rain or shine, and I found it, tucked just behind the Best Western Chelsea Inn, not far from Brunette and Lougheed Highway.
My Penelope stayed home, but young Telemachus came along, and we went all over the small but surprisingly interesting temple grounds. We walked through the main entrance, observing a traditional Japanese tree growing on the building above and to the left just before one comes inside. Kids wearing martial arts uniforms came in and went off to their class. When Telemachus and I entered the main prayer hall, which was empty, I felt a certain sense of well-being and pleasantness. Before doing anything else, we both bowed.
It’s cherry blossom season as my few loyal readers know, and that was one of the reasons I had chosen today as the day to visit Tozenji: There are several distinct garden zones on the Tozenji temple grounds. One of them is shown in the rectangular area below. You can see the tree on the building on the left. Sculpted trees are visible on the right:
I have often joked to my acquaintances that the countrysides of East Asia are covered with monumental bronze bells. Well, I know of at least three in Vancouver: one at UBC, one in Chinatown, and one here (and probably more I’ve seen that I can’t remember at the moment). The bronze bell is a typical feature of many Buddhist temples: The building that houses the main prayer hall is not analogous to the Korean* temple prayer hall, since it has more than one floor, many rooms, and serves many purposes; in a Korean temple, there would be distinct buildings for all of these. Given these constraints, it’s not surprising that the structure of Tozenji is utilitarian and almost residential rather than beautiful. The main prayer hall is subdued and minimalist by Buddhist standards, especially by Korean Buddhist standards. Nonetheless, there was a lovely ambience due to the warm colours of the wood and the tatami mats, and the translucent paper windows. Curiously, there were no large statues, and I could not see many Buddha statues at all–nothing like the traditional “Hall of the Thousand Buddhas” in the many other Buddhist temples I’ve been in. Perhaps that was downstairs–I didn’t go down today as I had no one’s permission to go there, but it doesn’t matter: I will go another time. The pictures below show the main prayer hall: Like many other Buddhist temples, Tozenji also has a smaller prayer hall–a separate building entirely: I was not able to enter the little prayer hall, but Telemachus and I were able to enjoy the gardens around it. There were bamboo bushes (not shown), and something else:
At its best, religion offers a vantage point from which to consider human affairs. When we have freedom of religion, we also have freedom from religion. I was not forced to bow when I was a child on my first visit to a temple, though I would never dream of going to a religious site and refraining from showing respect or veneration for any religious artefact now. It was precisely because of that freedom that I was free to return with more respect–and far more interest–today. In an open, secular society, we are more than welcome to enjoy the comforts that religion at the best of times can offer, and for me in particular, these are aesthetic and affective, and in some cases ethical, rather than metaphysical or logical. For my part, I believe there is much that the Buddhist traditions, in particular, can teach us in a culture that continues to exist after the sea of faith has long since receded.
I will be happy to go to Tozenji again, and next time I will go for tea.
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- I have been to many Korean Buddhist temples in South Korea, and one here; this was the basis for my experience of Buddhist temples, although now that I remember it, I did visit a prominent Buddhist shrine in Japan on my trip there a few years ago. I’ve also visited a Tibetan Chinese temple, which I blogged about here; that temple had many characteristics in common with the Korean temples, though the colours were completely different.
