Chanting during a night walk meditation.
As we walk in the forest late at night, the only thing visible is our feet in the faint light from the lantern. We stop. “Lanterns off,” comes the command. “Uketamo.” And then, an audible “wow.” We all look up at the night sky. Through a giant gap in the clouds we see the Milky Way.
The lantern only ever showed us the one step in front of us. This is the one and only thing within our immediate control, the one and only thing we have at this moment. Even in dark places, if all you can see is the step in front of you, well, that’s enough. Follow that step and soon enough you’ll get to a starry sky.
One of the most important lessons from the mountains we want our participants to take home with them is to live in the moment. Everything in our trainings is designed around this core concept. However, at times it can be difficult to see how this plays out in practice.
At the Naorai celebratory meal after last month’s Basic Yamabushi Training, I explained something from a previous Lessons From Mountains about how not waiting for the conch is a practice in putting you in the moment. In yamabushi training, the conch signals what comes next, and you never know when it will sound. So why worry about it now? One participant said they hadn’t thought of that, even after days of hearing the conch themselves.
We also create WhatsApp chats after our group trainings. Participants stay in touch with each other and share their lessons well after their time together on the mountains. As the hosts of these trainings, we are incredibly proud that past participants are reaping the benefits in some cases 3-4 years later. This message received earlier this year shows that the lessons from the mountains don’t just stay on the mountains:
“Hi all: it’s been a few years. I think of our journey together often and remember each of you fondly. What an incredible, transformational experience. The wisdom lingers. Uketamo!”
Living in the moment isn’t something you learn once. It’s something you keep practising for life.
Closer to home, even after nearly ten years as a yamabushi, and now as a Sendatsu (Master) Yamabushi, I am constantly learning out on the mountains. The realisation of the conch as an exercise of being in the now came to me earlier this year, for example. Then there are the myriad things Master Hoshino has said, but only after becoming a Sendatsu have I truly understood them to my soul. One of these is that Yamabushi Masters need participants as much as participants need masters. If we want to grow as leaders, we have to lead. But to lead, we need people to lead.
Yamabushi training doesn't give you a map, but it does remind you of where you are, long after you've left the mountains. And if all you can see is the step in front of you, well, that’s enough.
New Yamabushi Trainings for 2027
Everything we’ve learned from leading these experiences over the past ten years has gone into our 2027 trainings. To help these lessons stay with you for life, we’ve redesigned them, from their names to the details of each one. Bookings are now open, and spots are already being taken. Book a video chat with the team to find the right one for you, or see available trainings here.
Meanwhile, here are some photos from the Dewa Sanzan mountains over the last month.
Some participants from our last Basic Yamabushi Training donated their jikatabi split-toed shoes to the Kami to pray for safe travels.
At Byakko-san Koshoji Soto Zen Temple.
About to enter the Torii gates to Dewa Sanzan.
