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THE EXORCISM
Well, the word
spread throughout our group, courtesy of one of the participants who over heard
our conversation. Thus, approximately one hour before midnight, just about
everyone on the journey was milling about the front courtyard ready to go. The
one I wanted with me, Sher, however, wasn’t able to go due to the fact that she
needed to stay with our daughter Jess (12) who was not feeling well. (The next
day we discovered why when she finally showed us her infected figure—swollen
and not looking too good but that’s another whole story.) Over the years I’ve
been associated with many indigenous teachers in many out of the way places,
and know that it is the students responsibility to follow and keep up with
them, no matter where they are headed. And if you fall behind and get
lost…well, that’s your fault, not theirs. And it was the same with this
exorcist. With hardly a word, he turned and started the approximate 3-mile
journey to the Lantern Hall and the Daishi’s mausoleum. Even in his traditional
Japanese wooden sandals, he was setting a pace that I knew few could maintain
for three miles or even the mile and a half to the entrance of the cemetery.
And I was right, many dropped by the wayside. The click, click,
click of his wooden sandals echoing silently over the stone pathway transported
me in meditative awareness to a time long ago in these very mountains. The
piercing tiny clanging of the magical rings of his shakujo staff only
strengthened my feelings of timelessness. Time stood still but no, it speeded
up. And then…he stopped abruptly, and waited for Keikosan to reach him, as she
had been helping any stragglers that wanted to be helped. As soon as she
arrived he spoke rapidly and in a whisper to her. She then turned to the few
left and said in a low voice, “There is a well across the path from here that
has been used for hundreds of years to prophesize, a person’s death. If one
looks in and sees their reflection, they can be assured of many more years of
life. If, however, a reflection is not seen, then death is imminent. And
he asks if anyone would like to gaze in and see their future?"
If, for a moment,
you can put yourself there, imagine a cedar path that is dark during the day
and at night lit with stone lanterns spaced yards apart. And they are not up
high, like street lamps, but situated low on the ground. Any light reflected is
only on the immediate area of the path. Thus there is very little light
reflected when you step off of the path. And, of course, the well was off the path
deeper still in the cedar studded woods. In spite of my
fears, I went over. In lands where the spirit hasn’t been sucked out of it by
human greed and materialism, there resigns older magic’s, stranger and more
powerful than you can ever imagine. Legends and myths in a place such as this
are not to be taken lightly. Many times they are more truth than fiction. So it
was with much hesitation that I finally looked into the well…and as you
probably have guessed, I did see my reflection. Signing a breath of
release, I walked back to the group freeing my attachment to the experience so
that I could be in the present moment. As soon as I set foot on the trail, the
exorcist turned, and silently moved down the path, never looking back to see
who was following. Many spiritual
teachings use the symbolic mythology of water. One of these teachings states
that water separates the realms of spirit and matter, human and divine. And is
often portrayed in the imagery of the boatman “ferrying” souls over the river
Styx. It is also revealed in the Celtic mythic practice of river and streams
and the Egyptians reverence for the river Nile and it’s two shores. The
crossing from one world to the Otherworld usually involves a boat or a
bridge. Such as the half completed bridge (only an illusion) over the Grail
Castles moat, which is visually portrayed, though through the latitude of Hollywood’s
imagination, in the movie “Indian Jones and the Last Crusade.”
After crossing the
bridge, you would behold the Lantern Hall in front of you ablaze with hundreds
of yellow tinged specks of light. It was in front of this hall that the
exorcist stopped and offered incense before he led us around the back to
Kūkai’s “meditative residence.” And it was here that the exorcism took
place. I believe that there was approximately seven others, plus Keiko-san, the exorcist and myself. He positioned us, except for Keiko-san, in a straight-line horizontally facing Kōbō-Daishi’s mausoleum and told us, through Keiko-san’s translation, to sit still and relax. I was last in the line with Keiko-san angled in front and to the side facing me. He began working on each one, chanting, toning and every so often, a kiai or spirit shout. Out of the corner of my eyes, I could see him working rapidly, with mudra, up and down each person’s spine. The sounds coming out of the exorcist were eerily of another world and another time. Feeling as if I was in a dream, I closed my eyes. And in no time at all, I could feel the exorcist's presence, and was unafraid. The next part is hard, to say the least, to describe in words. I had a strong sensation of being disconnected, yet connected at the same time. I was I, but not I. I was the 'I' in the 'We' feeling like a top swirling in an every widening circle. And power, not the illusionary power of external humanness, but the power of the Bodhisattvas, the Archangels, to put a name on it; power not of this earth, and I, not wanting to let go or return … But then… A woman's scream,
penetrating through the night and ripping through the very fabric of time… I was back… Who am
I? What am I? Slowly opening my eyes, I saw Keiko-san's face, pale, drained and
frightened. Gathering her
spirit together, she informed the others that the ceremony was over and that
they must return at once to the temple. And not to tarry in their return. Turning to me she said, "we have to talk to you privately.” And
in the next breath, “are you all right?" Was I all right…well,
I was not only alive and well; I was bodhisattvaized (my own word, if
you can have demonized, why not bodhisattvaized). I could see so clearly, as if it was
daylight, and if I had wings, I could fly back to the heavens—back home.
"There are
many spirits here," Keiko-san solemnly continued, but now radiating an
exciting peacefulness. "I was afraid for your safety, so I had to stop the exorcism. The exorcist is going to give
you a secret teaching of the triple mystery. Right now you are very ‘open’ and
this will help guard you against unheeded intrusions by these spirits.” To this day, the
exorcism, 1987, was the first of three powerful, transformational, profound
experiences; the other two were my vision in 1993 and the visitation in
1997—ten years later, a complete cycle—Alpha and Omega…AUM, beginning, middle,
end. As we departed the
sacred mountain of Kōyasan, Keiko-san presented to me the following words: |
A transcendental
experience, such as the exorcism, is difficult to depict in words, but I will
attempt my best after 14 years. From the very beginning Keiko-san, our Japanese
guide, was amazed at the spiritual twists and turns of our journey, such as
always being in the right place at the right time. And it proved itself once
again, on Kōyasan, when she approached me and said: (I am paraphrasing) “This
trip is getting even stranger. There just happens to be an exorcist from Osaka
that knew that he needed to come here to meet you, even though he has no formal
connection with this temple. He wants to know if you would be interested in
going to Kōbō Daishi’s mausoleum tonight at midnight for a special ceremony.
And you may bring alone anyone that you choose."
"I always remember your sensitive, strong, sacred spirit. It was a great experience for me, too."
Spiritual Growth
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