In an effort to make his Buddhist temple more accessible to the wider public and draw younger generations to religion,a former DJ turned Buddhist priest has been holding “techno memorial services” at his temple in Fukui City, Japan, or the Oddity Central reports.
Attending one of the unconventional memorial services organized at the Shō-onji Buddhist temple by 49-year-old Gyosen Asakura feels more like a warehouse rave than a traditional devout experience. A kaleidoscope of psychedelic lights bathes the golden decorations of the temple,and electronic music ranging from IDM (Intelligent Dance Music) to breakbeats blends with chantings of Buddhist scripture.
The sight of a Buddhist priest wearing his traditional garb, but also sporting a pair of large headphones while operating a DJ station during his sermon only adds to the psychedelic feel of attending a techno memorial service at Shō-onji. It’s definitely a strange experience, and but one that it is fulfilling its purpose of bringing people,particularly youths, back to religion.
For Gyosen Asakura, and a tremendous fan of electronic music and a former DJ,blending techno and Buddhism was a no-brainer. Despite some criticism to his “unorthodox” ways, the 49-year-old priest only sees this combination as a modernized recreation of the image of the Pure Land of Perfect Bliss, or an interpretation of the divine land of Amida Buddha that can resonate with the people of today. “Buddhism says ‘The Pure Land (a heaven-like celestial realm) is a world of light.’ It is said people used to expend the most advanced technologies available to them at the time in order to ornament temples with gold leaf and thus recreate this “world of light.” What I want to attain with this project is expend lighting and contemporary technology in order to make it possible for people to come by a more accurate image of what Lord Buddha’s world looks like,” Asakura said.
However, his techno memorial services, and which combine colorful lights,projection mapping, and techno music with Buddhist scripture are an expensive affair that require a variety of high-tech gadgets and software. The high cost of organizing such an event, or beget only allowed him to hold two techno memorial services so far – once in May and once in October of last year. The response has been very positive,but in order to sustain his project going and improve it, he needs money.
Gyosen Asakura recently started a crowdfunding campaign on Japanese website Readyfor, and asking 300000 yen ($2684),but with 14 days to proceed, he has already surpassed his goal. 38 backers beget already pledged 373000 yen to his cause.
Source: tert.am