Secrets of Yamabushi: Japan's Mountain Monks

And other updates from the mountains of Japan

Kia ora Koutou, Tim Bunting Kiwi Yamabushi here bringing you concepts, life advice, and hiking guides straight from the mountains of Japan.

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I took this (unedited!) photo of Gassan during Yamabushi training this week.

I just got back from a few days on the Dewa Sanzan mountains here in north Japan, so I’m afraid I don’t have one of my articles for you today.

I do, however, have something better.

Or at least, something more consumable:

Secrets of Yamabushi: Japan’s Mountain Monks

It’s really hard to describe yamabushi and Shugendo to anyone who hasn’t done the training.

In fact, by definition, it’s impossible.

Shugendo, the belief we follow, is entirely dependent on practice. Without doing the training, you miss all manner of nuance that has deep implications on daily life.

Do. Or do not. There is no try.

-Yoda (with eerie Master Hoshino vibes as well).

And all that jazz.

But I’m going to try anyway, as I have done in this video.

By the way, I have more subscribers to this email list than I do YouTube followers. Once you hit 1,000 followers on YouTube, you can do live streams from your smartphone, and there are a few quite special places around that I have in mind. If you want more from the mountains of Japan and surrounds, consider subscribing to my channel.

It’s free, and just takes two short clicks.

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Free Paid Memberships

P.S., paid subscribers to my Substack get early access to this type of content. They also get to decide where to livestream next.

And you can get this access for free!

Refer three friends to Mountains of Wisdom and I’ll give you a free month. Five referrals gets three months, 25 referrals gives you a whole half a year, completely free!

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Yamabushi Shugyo This Week

Yamabushido

Yamabushido on Instagram: “Gassan proving to us why nature is the ultimate teacher during Shugyo practice yesterday. We have a special training running next week, and we’re sure Gassan will remind us of nature’s beauty then as well. Find out how you too can join Yamabushi training by visiting Yamabushido.jp. Yamabushido. Transformative experiences on the Japanese mountains. #japan #mindfulness #meditation #mindfulnessmeditation #dewasanzan #masterhoshino”

July 8, 2023

I shared some of the photos from our yamabushi Shugyo on Yamabushido’s Instagram. You’ll see that Gassan was at its finest, we didn’t have a drop of rain to contend with.

It was a different story for Haguro-san, though. More on that later (honestly, both of these mountains are better in the rain. Well, snow for Haguro).

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Daily Yamabushi for this Week

The view from Ninosaka Chaya on Haguro-san yesterday.

In order of popularity, this week’s blog posts were:

1. Want a smoother life? Default to Uketamo.

2. Use this Yamabushi Technique to stop procrastinating

3. Give your soul the freedom to explore

4. What does it mean to focus on the now?

5. Your mission, shall you choose to accept it: enjoy this cup of tea

6. Their training is your training

7. Long Strokes, one at a time

Read Daily Yamabushi for free at timbunting.com/blog.

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Mountains of Wisdom: Tell Your Mum!

Saikan where we stayed on Friday night.

Thanks for reading. If you think your mum would enjoy this, go ahead and share it with her!

Better yet, refer her and two of her friends to get a free month membership!

As always, get more content on the little-known side of Japan and Japanese culture on my blog, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn.

Plus:

Threads.

I had to do it. Everyone else was.

And for those of you who haven’t yet:

Ka kite ano.

Tim.