Joya No Kane

In Japan, as we transitioned from 2022 to 2023, Buddhist temples and monasteries chimed their bells 108 times. At each temple, the bells sound in a Buddhist ritual called joya no kane (New Year’s Eve Bell) that represents the cleansing of the 108 worldly obstacles, temptations, passions, or desires. The very last ring comes in the New Year, accompanied by a wish that those who hear the bells will not be plagued by these in the year ahead.

It is important to realize that the number 108 has no special significance other than representing the 108 earthly temptations or obstacles that face us as we travel the path toward enlightenment. In this instance, the 108 chimes mark the beginning and end of a time period during which Buddhists perform the ritual of joya no kane. The changes I introduced to our New Year’s practice bring our practice into alignment with the Buddhist practice.

First, realize that one of the purposes of joya no kane is to encourage a degree of introspection so that people can recognize whether they are being plagued by one of the 108 worldly passions. Introspection relies on awareness which in turn requires a mental state similar to meditation. On the other hand, if everyone in the New Year’s Day practice is counting their 108 throws, there is no space in your brain left for the training of awareness. Instead, you are caught in a loop in your conceptual mind that will not let you go until you reach 108. It gets worse: for some, it becomes a race or a competition to see who is done first. For others, it becomes a burden to be endured. I suspect the senior students will be able to keep their practice more attuned to awareness, but this will not be the case for the majority of students.

No matter how you look at it, most students will be caught in a situation where their conceptual mind will be caught in a 108-counting loop, leaving little space for introspection and awareness which is the whole purpose behind joya no kane. We have taken a ritual originally designed to help cleanse the world of the 108 temptations and instead used it to reinforce the dominance of the conceptual mind.

Now that you have a grasp of my intent, here are the changes I introduced to the format of the New Year’s Day class.

The Bell Ringer or Time Keeper - select one or two senior students to count their throws. Once they reach 108, they inform the instructor and the class is concluded. Note that the Bell Ringers are the only students who are counting their throws. They offer to count as a gift to their fellow students and should be thanked at the end of class.

Awareness Training - to be consistent with the intent of joya no kane, encourage the students to practice being aware of what is going on in their bodies, their emotions, and their thoughts. The instructor should correct and encourage students as they practice focusing on their awareness rather than on their thoughts or emotions. When these irritants do arise, simply be aware of them and then bring your focus back to the technique you are performing. Those of you who practice meditation will recognize this as a basic exercise in meditation practice.

Aikido Techniques - Rather than performing a single technique for the whole class, use a variety of techniques so that students can explore what comes up as techniques change. The techniques need to be kept fairly simple so that there is not a lot of effort expended in learning the technique.

It sounds like a normal class and in many ways it is. The Bell Ringer simply replaces the clock but serves as a reminder of the joya no kane ritual. The biggest difference comes down to the instructor’s role in selecting techniques simple enough to allow students to focus on their awareness rather than the technique and then encouraging students throughout the class to focus on their awareness.

Now don’t get me wrong. Aikido practice using a high number of repetitions is an excellent way to improve the performance of specific techniques. Most practitioners follow this strategy when they are preparing for a test, working toward that feeling when the technique flows from start to finish. During the preparation for a test, students will perform the techniques hundreds of times, though not necessarily in the same practice session. However, I believe that the New Year’s Day practice should be consistent with the principles of joya no kane. Students should focus on awareness as they perform their techniques, being particularly aware when the ego attempts to insert itself.

-- Don Dickie