“Please help us move a grave-like object”… A monk receives a bizarre and mysterious request - Part 1

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A Buddhist Monk

😊Hello, everyone! 

This is another 2 chan thread, which is very LONG so I will have to divide them into several parts. 

I plan is to publish 6 parts in total, if all things go smoothly ✨

But I might publish different stories for Christmas and New Year. 

Thank you for being patient with me! 

I hope you enjoy the story! 🩷

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(Translated and Arranged by Saya)

The Thread Title:

“Please help us move a grave-like object” … A monk receives a bizarre and mysterious request” (2016)

<PART ONE : The Request>

87 (OP): 

I would like someone who are not my friends or family to hear my story but I am not sure if I should post it here.

I am a monk of a certain Buddhist school (Note: school here means a sect or denomination) from Kyushu. 

The other day, I encountered something quite bizarre and I am still confused. 

I could write about it if anyone would be interested….

A common robe worn by a monk

90: 

>>87

I would definitely be interested ~ 

93:

>>87

Yes, please 

89:

Go ahead

95(OP):

With the kind encouragement from 90 san, I have decided to post my story, although it may take long to write it all down.

On a side note, my school (and I’m afraid some of you will know which one it is by me saying this) does NOT acknowledge the existence of ghosts and such, 1️⃣ so I cannot casually talk about this to anyone who knows me. 

Anyway, I live in Fukuoka, and the other day, I had to go to a certain prefecture (famous because of a Hanawa san2️⃣) for work. 

The work involved, according to the person who phoned me (and it was the first time I ever spoke to him), “removing a cinerary urn from an old grave and relocating it into a new grave,” because they had rebuilt the gravestone.

So he wanted me to do what is commonly known as “tama-nuki (魂抜き pulling out a soul) and “tama-ire (魂入れ putting in a soul),”  but as a general rule, our school does not perform those rituals, so I initially turned down the request. 3️⃣

I hope this is not too long.

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Notes: 

1️⃣The monk presumably belongs to Jōdo Shinshū  because its doctrine does not include the concept of souls. 

On YouTube: 

The Revolutionary Origins of Pure Land Buddhism in Japan 

Kyoto Walk -  Shinshū Nishi-Honganji-ji Temple

2️⃣I’m guessing he is talking about the comedian called Hanawa, who was born in Saitama prefecture. 

On YouTube: 

10 Best Places to Visit in Saitama

Countryside Stay (Chichibu in Saitama)

3️⃣I am now more or less convinced that the monk belongs to Jōdo Shinshū, because it is a school that does not do these rituals.

An example of a grave in Japan

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97: 

>>95

It’s not long at all ~~

98: 

>>95

I’m reading 

101(OP): 

So my previous chunk of writing was about the right length? I will continue. 

Then, the person talking to me on the phone said,

“But I would be satisfied if you could do something similar. I must beg you to come.”

He sounded somewhat desperate.

“I fear I would not be able to meet your expectations,” I declined the request for a few more times, because I could not possibly disregard my school’s doctrines, but the person would not take no for an answer. 

He begged and begged, and each time he begged he became more distraught, making it even harder for me to turn it down. 

At last, I told him that I would need to rearrange my schedule and call him back at a later date. 

The caller sounded like a middle-aged man, and he told me he came to know me through an acquaintance of his. 

102:

>>101

I’m so excited 

105 (OP): 

The following day, during my morning duty (a time way too early for ordinary people to be up), the person called me again. 

“Have you decided when you will come? For pity’s sake, please come as soon as you can.” 

He said this kind of thing over and over again. 

To be honest, I felt uncomfortable, thinking how could he call me at this time in the morning, and wondering if the matter was more complex than I had first believed.

But the person (I will refer to him as T san from here on) sounded like he was half crying and, moved by pity, I gave him a few possible dates that would be convenient for me. 

108(OP): 

I’m sorry I’m slow to write. 

And then, as I had expected, he asked me to come at the earliest possible date (the morning of the following day), so I asked him to tell me the address of the place I would have to go, and the information about the deceased for whom I would be offering a mantra. 

“I will come pick you up at your place, and I will tell you all about it on the way to there.” 

He said, making me feel even more uneasy. 

But I have already told him I would take on the work, and could not take my words back now, and also since T san knew where I lived, I was afraid that he might even try doing something drastic if I refused. 

110(OP): 

Truth be told,  I am a bit of a scaredy-cat, so in preparation for the following day, I prayed more deeply and for longer to the principal image of my temple (although this is not really permitted), and in addition, I borrowed a dokkosho (vajra) from a friend from another school to take with me. (We both regularly attend a Buddhism Study Group, where we study about other Buddhist schools and make friends.) 

Dokkosho (a Buddhist weapon to destroy earthly desires, mainly used in Esoteric Buddhist rituals in Japan)

The Principal Image of Jōdo Shinshū (Amida-nyorai/ Amitabha)

The following day, T san came to pick me up earlier than the scheduled 9.00 am. 

T san turned out a be a gentle and timid man, very different from my impression of him on the phone, and the respectful way he greeted me showed that he was a polite person with common sense. 

“Please pardon me for giving you so much trouble,” he apologised. 

112: 

>>110

What could have happened to him to make him lose his usual polite composure …? 

113:

>>112

Something dire must have happened to him.

114(OP): 

T san was accompanied by his wife, and they appeared to be just a normal couple, and their car was also  an ordinary-looking car. 

I had been informed of the prefecture we were going, so I had worked out the approximate amount of time I would be away, and left 4️⃣ T san’s address and number to my family so that they knew how to reach me. 

“So today, I understand that I have been called to help you relocate a grave. Is the deceased a member of your family?” 

When I asked them, T san’s reply was:

“No, the person is not related to us at all. 

It’s a little complicated and I couldn’t tell you about it on the phone. I didn’t want our conversation to be overheard too.” 

Two things popped up in my mind when I heard it.

One was that “it may be something dangerous,” and the other one was that “perhaps a mizuko?”5️⃣

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Notes:

4️⃣ In some Japanese Buddhist schools, priests are allowed to get married, and the Jushoku (住職 temple priest) usually lives in a house called “Kuri” adjacent to a temple with his family. 

A small temple with a Kuri on the right

5️⃣Mizuko (水子 meaning “water child) is a  term used for stillborn, aborted or miscarried foetuses. 

Sometimes they are said to turn into vengeful spirits, if for example no proper memorial service is held for them. 

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115 (OP): 

T san’s wife added, “We first got to know about Obosan (Note: お坊さん, pronounced as o-BOH-san. This is a casual way of addressing a Buddhist priest) through D san.” 

D san was someone I had once worked together in the past on a certain educational project. 

I wished they had told me about it earlier so that I could talk to D san and ask him to give me more information on this particular case, I thought. 

But what I bothered me more was what T san had said about how he “didn’t want our conversation to be overheard.” 

“ I see,” I nodded, but I couldn’t get those words out of my mind. 

What did he mean by “overheard”? By who? 

I felt nervous and just hoped he meant his family. 

“D san told me that you were a kind person and you would accept our request,” T san then started telling me the following story.

117(OP): 

This is a summary of what he told me. 

T san and his wife had moved to the prefecture because of his work and a new home (That’s how he became acquainted with D san). 

Before the couple decided to built their home at the current site, they had looked everywhere in the prefecture in search of the perfect place to start their new life. 

They were lucky to have found the place that had everything — the sea, mountains, clean air, and fresh food.

Having no children, they wanted a place where they could spend their last years in peace and quiet. 

For this purpose, they had saved up enough money and chosen a job which would allow them to sustain a decent living for the rest of their lives. 

On the phone, he had told me that it was a grave, but to be more precise, it was a grave-like object. 

Naturally, that was an unexpected piece of information, and I nearly exclaimed out loud. 

“What do you mean by a grave-like object?” I asked. 

118(OP): 

It was a normal sort of story up until this topic was brought up, which felt so out of place that I must have sounded quite alarmed. 

Before T san could say anything, T san’s wife hurriedly interjected, “Sumimasen (sorry), we didn’t mean to trick you or anything.” 

“No, I’m not thinking that way, I assure you. 

So when you say ‘grave-like,” do you mean something like a monument made of stone?” 

I continued asking them, despite feeling the sudden heaviness of the air that fell on us in the car. 

T san replied, “Sumimasen, we can only describe it as something that looks like a grave. Sumimasen.” 

He kept saying“Sumimasen” again and again. 

Oh, I’m doomed… Performing incantations is forbidden in my school, but I wish I had studied it more… 

As I was thinking that, the wife said:

“But I am sure Obosan will be able to recognise it and tell us what it is. I know it will be alright.” 

Inspite of her words, at that point, I simply wanted to run away. 

Sumimasen, I need to perform my evening duties now. I will continue with my story after I have done them. 

Please forgive me for being selfish. 

119: 

>>118

Oh ~ I’m so intrigued!! 

I’ll be waiting. I hope your work will go smoothly! 

120: 

Well, well, what have we here? 

The most exciting thread I have encountered in a while!

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⭐️Beautiful Place of the Week: 

Kayabuki no sato - Yakushi Onsen Hatago in Gunma Prefecture! 

Official website:

https://www.yakushi-hatago.co.jp/en/

I would love to stay at this ryokan and just chill😍❤️

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→JUMP to PART TWO