Reflection
A fool for Mount Fuji
By Joe Costello
Chapter 4, Verse 7 of Paul’s letter to the Galatians: “So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.”
“ … no longer … “
These two words kept ringing through my head as we hiked.
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Joe Costello, left, with Richard Roncal.
My friend and I were climbing Mount Fuji in Japan, following the original Yoshida Guchi Trail. Our plan was to climb up to 8.5 Station, rest until two hours before sunrise, and complete the climb to the top of Fuji-san. We would then walk around the crater and climb down to 5th Station.
We were currently stuck in traffic on the final ascent before the top, where the observation area sat awaiting the rising sun. LED flashlights and winter jackets dominated the trail, and the sound was a mix of heavy breathing and clanging portable oxygen tanks. The climbing was orderly with little shoving or passing, like most of the Japanese culture I had experienced.
More than 500 years ago, pilgrims prayed at the Fuji Sengen Shrine and began the climb up their sacred mountain. Originally, the climb was performed by monks to appease the active volcano. Fuji (3,776 meters/12,388 feet) has now been dormant since 1708. Many others climbed for religious reasons, specifically as a spiritual discipline or form of asceticism.
Today, many Japanese make it a goal to climb Fuji-san once during their lifetimes. A common Japanese proverb says: “You are a fool to never climb Fuji-san, and a bigger fool to climb more than once.”
I had a good idea why I was climbing Fuji. As George Mallory once said, “Because it’s there.” However, why was the path I followed at 2:30 a.m. on a Wednesday morning packed three lines across as far as I could see up and down the last 300 vertical feet of this mountain? I could tell by the backpacks and gear that for most of the people around me, this was their one and only climb. So, what was the reason for all this traffic? Did duty and obligation grip these people this hard?
To understand this, you must understand the people and what they follow. There are two major religious traditions in Japan: Shinto and Buddhism.
Shinto means the way of the gods. It is the native religion of Japan. Shintoists worship many gods, called kami, which are found in all parts of nature, including the mountains. Shinto also involves ancestor worship. State Shinto was a government-established religion for about 80 years, but was abolished after Word War II when the emperor declared he was not divine.
Buddhism was brought to Japan from India. It has a more elaborate set of beliefs than Shinto, and it offers a more complicated view of humanity, the gods, and life and death. Generally, Buddhists believe that a person can obtain perfect peace and happiness by leading a life of virtue and wisdom. Buddhism stresses the unimportance of worldly things. Within Buddhism, Zen emphasizes a close relationship between a master and his disciples. Their belief is also that present and future Buddhas are able to save people through grace and compassion. However, Zen has developed distinctive practices that are designed to lead to a state of spiritual enlightenment called satori, which can come suddenly or through a long process of self-discipline, meditation, and instruction.
Many Japanese people say they aren’t devout worshipers and do not have strong religious beliefs. However, nearly everyone in Japanese society engages in some religious practices or rituals. Older homes in Japan can be seen with shrines built on the property to ward off evil spirits. Many people visit Shinto shrines to make offerings to the gods. In return, they may ask the gods for favors, such as the safe birth of a child, success on examinations, or good health. Japanese people typically invite Shinto priests to preside at weddings and to offer blessings for the New Year or for the construction of new buildings. Many Japanese turn to Buddhist priests to preside at funerals and other occasions when they commemorate the dead.
The Japanese people live in a culture with a strict code of ritual and order. Although aspects of western life have started popping up in Japanese culture, and many have been embraced by the younger generations, the Japanese culture is still very different.
The Japanese seem to embrace new technologies yet also desire to preserve their historic and distinct culture. People will often say, “We Japanese” to insinuate that all Japanese think and act the same. But it is fascinating to see the individuality – not just the commonality – that resides within each Japanese person, young and old.
So, in modern Japan, there exists a culture that is recovering from a long recession and clamoring for new technologies all while being dominated by religions that require rituals and self-denial. No wonder God has put the Far East on the hearts of His followers!
The people of Japan need to know that NO LONGER do they have to be slaves to ritual sacrifice and self-denial to attain a higher state of being. They do not need to climb Mount Fuji out of a sense of duty or obligation, but rather because it’s there. They can do it simply for the love of it.
God has come to earth in the person of Jesus Christ to set us free from bondage, and to make people of faith heirs to the promises of Abraham. Those redeemed by the blood of Christ can stand before the throne of God and claim victory in Jesus! Praise be to God Almighty!
To quote again from Paul: “Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.” (Galatians 1:3-5)
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Crator inside Mount Fuji seen from the top of the peak.
Joe Costello of Rochester, N.Y., has been a member of Climbing For Christ since February 2008. This story appeared originally in The Climbing Way (Volume 11, Autumn 2008).
Posted Nov. 22, 2008 |