Eihei-ji
Eihei-ji (永平寺) is one of two main temples of the Sōtō school of Japanese Zen. The other main temple of Sōtō is Sōji-ji in Yokohama. Eihei-ji is located about 15 km (9 mi) east of Fukui in Fukui Prefecture, Japan. In English, its name means "temple of eternal peace" (in Japanese, 'ei' means "eternal", 'hei' means "peaceful", and 'ji' means "Buddhist temple").[1][2]
The temple was founded Eihei Dōgen, who brought Chinese Chan teachings from China to Japan during the 13th century, and established the Sōtō school based on these teachings. The ashes of Dōgen and a memorial to him are in the Jōyōden (the Founder's Hall) at Eihei-ji.
Eihei-ji is currently a training monastery with more than two hundred monks and nuns in residence. As of 2003, Eihei-ji had 800,000 visitors per year, less than half the number of tourists who came ten years before. Visitors with Zen experience may participate after making prior arrangements, and all visitors are treated as religious trainees.
Further reading
Eihei-ji, Wikipedia
Notes
- ↑ "Eiheiji". EiheijiKankoubussankyoukai. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
- ↑ "Head Temple Eiheiji". SotoZen-Net. Retrieved March 29, 2012.