Buddhist chanting
KYOKO MORGAN
She’s lived in South Africa for nearly 30 years, but Kyoko Morgan’s morning ritual is rooted in her Japanese culture and Buddhist upbringing. At 21, she moved from Japan to England to pursue English and African Studies, where she met a Japanese woman who was on her way to South Africa (she ended up being Madiba’s personal acupuncture therapist). Kyoko decided to go too.
‘I had to restart my degree here,’ she says, ‘so I worked part-time and studied Anthropology and Psychology through Unisa. After that, I started working at Japanese NGO People’s Education Support Fund.’
Finding herself pregnant after a brief relationship, Kyoko was a single mum when she met her current husband. ‘My baby was about two months old then… she’s now 24, and I have a 21-year-old son, too. We’ve all lived in Cape Town since 2001.’
Kyoko has been performing her morning ritual since she was a child. ‘We would do morning gongyo, which means “assiduous practice”. When I was a child, we did this twice a day, morning and evening. It’s basically reciting a portion of a teaching called the Lotus Sutra, and chanting the title of the Lotus Sutra, which is, ‘Nam-myoh-renge-kyo.’
Kyoko aims for a minimum of 30 minutes each morning, although the chant can sometimes take an hour. ‘The purpose is to reconnect with the Mystic Law or Buddha nature within. It’s something that permeates the universe and is within each one of us. We often say that qualities in human beings are characterised by things like courage, compassion, wisdom and creativity. I intentionally try to connect with that, and when I have problems in my life or negativities within me, I try to chant towards some kind of goal.’
The ritual does not come without difficulties. ‘Sometimes I face the complexity of confronting something negative, and the challenge becomes to believe that it can change. In good times or bad times, I chant. But there are instances where I feel as if I’m struggling to connect, or I am distracted. It’s an intentional process that looks different each day.’
Staying centred and making conscious decisions are core outcomes of the chanting ritual. By focusing on staying calm instead of reacting to anger, it’s possible to stay balanced and remain unscathed by the actions of others. ‘The saying, “Become the master of your mind; don’t allow your mind to master you,” really resonates with this practice.’
During lockdown, Kyoko added gardening to her mindful daily routine. ‘It became something to look forward to in the morning. Some days you’re pleasantly surprised by something growing, or you notice that something disappeared overnight. It’s beautiful to see different cycles of life: it has rejuvenated my spirit. It’s different to chanting, in that while I am physically doing something peaceful, I am mentally calming my mind.’