250px is one of two main temples of the

Sōtō Sōtō Zen or is the largest of the three traditional sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism (the others being Rinzai and Ōbaku). It is the Japanese line of the Chinese Cáodòng school, which was founded during the Tang dynasty by Dòngshān L ...

school of

Zen Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

, the largest single religious denomination in Japan (by number of temples in a single legal entity). Eihei-ji is located about east of

Fukui is a Japanese name meaning "fortunate" or sometimes "one who is from the Fukui prefecture". It may refer to: Places * Fukui Domain, a part of the Japanese han system during the Edo period * Fukui Prefecture, a prefecture of Japan located in ...

Fukui Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Fukui Prefecture has a population of 778,943 (1 June 2017) and has a geographic area of 4,190 km2 (1,617 sq mi). Fukui Prefecture borders Ishikawa Prefecture to the north, Gi ...

, Japan. In English, its name means "temple of eternal peace" (in Japanese, 'ei' means "eternal", 'hei' means "peaceful", and 'ji' means "Buddhist temple"). Its founder was Eihei Dōgen who brought Sōtō Zen from China to Japan during the 13th century. The ashes of Dōgen and a memorial to him are in the ''Jōyōden'' (the Founder's Hall) at Eihei-ji.

William Bodiford William M. Bodiford (born December 3, 1955) is an American professor and author. He teaches Buddhist Studies and the religion of Japan and East Asia at the University of California, Los Angeles. Education and early career In his section "Acknowle ...

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

writes that, "The rural monastery Eiheiji in particular aggrandized Dōgen to bolster its own authority ''vis-à-vis'' its institutional rivals within the Sōtō denomination." Eihei-ji is 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. In keeping with Zen's

Mahayana ''Mahāyāna'' (; "Great Vehicle") is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices. Mahāyāna Buddhism developed in India (c. 1st century BCE onwards) and is considered one of the three main existing bra ...

tradition, the iconography in various buildings is an array of potential confusion for newcomers: at the ''Sanmon'' are four kings standing guard named '' Shitenno''; the Buddha hall's main altar has three statues of Buddhas

past The past is the set of all events that occurred before a given point in time. The past is contrasted with and defined by the present and the future. The concept of the past is derived from the linear fashion in which human observers experience t ...

present The present (or here'' and ''now) is the time that is associated with the events perception, perceived directly and in the first time, not as a recollection (perceived more than once) or a speculation (predicted, hypothesis, uncertain). It is ...

and

future The future is the time after the past and present. Its arrival is considered inevitable due to the existence of time and the laws of physics. Due to the apparent nature of reality and the unavoidability of the future, everything that currently ...

; the ''Hatto'' displays ''

Kannon Guanyin () is a Bodhisattva associated with compassion. She is the East Asian representation of Avalokiteśvara ( sa, अवलोकितेश्वर) and has been adopted by other Eastern religions, including Chinese folk religion. She ...

'' the

bodhisattva In Buddhism, a bodhisattva ( ; sa, 𑀩𑁄𑀥𑀺𑀲𑀢𑁆𑀢𑁆𑀯 (Brahmī), translit=bodhisattva, label=Sanskrit) or bodhisatva is a person who is on the path towards bodhi ('awakening') or Buddhahood. In the Early Buddhist schools ...

of compassion, and four white lions (called the ''a-un no shishi''); the ''Yokushitsu'' has ''Baddabara''; the ''Sanshokaku'' has a statue of ''

Hotei Hotei may refer to: *Hotei Station, a Japanese train station *Tomoyasu Hotei, a Japanese musician *Budai, known as "Hotei" in Japanese, a semi-historical monk and deity *''Coralliophila hotei ''Coralliophila hotei'' is a species of sea snail, a ...

''; and the ''Tosu'' displays ''

Ucchusma Ucchuṣma ( Chinese: 穢跡金剛; Pinyin: ''Huìjì Jīngāng''; Rōmaji: ''Ususama Myōō'') is a Vidyārāja in Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism. Ucchuṣma's full name in Sanskrit sources is ''Vajra Krodha Mahābala Ucchuṣma'' (lit. "Gre ...

''.

History

Dōgen founded Eihei-ji in 1244 with the name ''Sanshoho Daibutsuji'' in the woods of rural Japan, quite far from the distractions of

Kamakura period The is a period of Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura by the first ''shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the Genpei War, which saw the struggle bet ...

urban life. He appointed a successor, but sometime after his death the abbacy of Eihei-ji became hotly disputed, a schism now called the ''

sandai sōron The ''sandai sōron'' (三代相論), or third-generation differentiation, was a putative dispute over the orthodoxy and succession of Sōtō Zen Buddhism. The major figures involved were Jakuen, Gikai, Gien, and Giin, all of whom claimed the righ ...

''. Until 1468, Eihei-ji was not held by the current

Keizan Keizan Jōkin (, 1268–1325), also known as Taiso Jōsai Daishi, is considered to be the second great founder of the Sōtō school of Zen in Japan. While Dōgen, as founder of Japanese Sōtō, is known as , Keizan is often referred to as . Keiza ...

line of Sōtō, but by the line of Dōgen's Chinese disciple

Jakuen Jìyuán (寂円, 1207 – 8 October 1299), better known to Buddhist scholars by his Japanese name Jakuen, was a Chinese Zen Buddhist monk and a disciple of Rujing. Most of his life is known to us only through medieval hagiography, legends, ...

.William M. Bodiford. ''Sōtō Zen in Medieval Japan''. University of Hawaii Press, 1993. After 1468, when the Keizan line took ownership of Eihei-ji in addition to its major temple

Sōji-ji is one of two of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism. The other is Eihei-ji temple in Fukui Prefecture. ''Fodor's'' calls it "one of the largest and busiest Buddhist institutions in Japan". The temple was founded in 740 as a Shingon Buddhist temp ...

and others, Jakuen's line and other alternate lines became less prominent. As Eihei-ji and Sōji-ji became rivals over the centuries, Eihei-ji made claims based on the fact of Dōgen's original residence there. William Bodiford of UCLA wrote: The entire temple was destroyed by fire several times. During the late 16th century, disciples of

Ikkō-shū or "single-minded school" is usually viewed as a small, militant offshoot from Jōdo Shinshū Buddhism though the name has a complex history. Originally Ikkō-shū was an "obscure band of Pure Land proponents" founded by Ikkō Shunjō in the fif ...

attacked and burned the temple and surrounding buildings. Its oldest standing structure dates from 1794.

Physical layout

Today the temple grounds cover about . The ''Butsuden'' (Buddha hall) main altar carries statues of the Buddhas of the Three Times: right to left, Amida Butsu (past), Shakyamuni Butsu (present), and Miroku Bosatsu (future). Among the temple's 70 structures are the ''

Sanmon A , also called , is the most important gate of a Japanese Zen Buddhist temple, and is part of the Zen ''shichidō garan'', the group of buildings that forms the heart of a Zen Buddhist temple.JAANUS It can be often found in temples of other den ...

'' (gate), '' Hatto'' (lecture hall), ''Sōdo'' (Priest's or meditation hall), ''Daiku-in'' (kitchen, three stories and a basement), ''Yokushitsu'' (bath) and ''Tosu'' (toilet, Dōgen's ''

Shōbōgenzō is the title most commonly used to refer to the collection of works written in Japan by the 13th century Buddhist monk and founder of the Sōtō Zen school, Eihei Dōgen. Several other works exist with the same title (see above), and it is som ...

'' includes a chapter on manners appropriate for the toilet. Most of his rules are still followed today). The ''

Shōrō The two main types of bell tower in Japan The or is the bell tower of a Buddhist temple in Japan, housing the temple's . It can also be found at some Shinto shrines which used to function as temples (see article '' Shinbutsu shūgō''), as ...

'' (belfry) holds the ''obon sho'', the great brahman bell. The ''Shidoden'' (Memorial Hall) contains thousands of tablets for deceased laypersons. The ''Joyoden'' (Founders hall) contains the ashes of Dōgen and his successors. Here, images of the deceased are served food daily like they are living teachers. The ''Kichijokaku'' (visitor's center) is a large four-story modern building for lay persons, with kitchen, bath, sleeping rooms and a hall for zazen. The bronze temple bell dates to 1327 and is an Important Cultural Property. The

and Central Gate date from the 1794 rebuilding and are Prefectural Cultural Properties. A number of important manuscripts belong to the temple, including the

National Treasure The idea of national treasure, like national epics and national anthems, is part of the language of romantic nationalism, which arose in the late 18th century and 19th centuries. Nationalism is an ideology that supports the nation as the fundame ...

''Universally Recommended Instructions for

Zazen ''Zazen'' (literally " seated meditation"; ja, 座禅; , pronounced ) is a meditative discipline that is typically the primary practice of the Zen Buddhist tradition. However, the term is a general one not unique to Zen, and thus technicall ...

'', by temple founder

Dōgen Dōgen Zenji (道元禅師; 26 January 1200 – 22 September 1253), also known as Dōgen Kigen (道元希玄), Eihei Dōgen (永平道元), Kōso Jōyō Daishi (高祖承陽大師), or Busshō Dentō Kokushi (仏性伝東国師), was a Ja ...

(1233); teachings he brought back from

Song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetitio ...

China (1227); and a record of a subsidy for the earlier Sanmon in the hand of

Emperor Go-En'yū (11 January 1359 – 6 June 1393) was the 5th of the Emperors of Northern Court during the period of two courts in Japan. According to pre-Meiji scholars, his reign spanned the years from 1371 through 1382. This Nanboku-chō "sovereign" was n ...

(1372). Spread over a hillside, the complex is surrounded by

cedar Cedar may refer to: Trees and plants *''Cedrus'', common English name cedar, an Old-World genus of coniferous trees in the plant family Pinaceae *Cedar (plant), a list of trees and plants known as cedar Places United States * Cedar, Arizona * ...

trees, some tall and as old as the temple. It is surrounded by bright green

moss Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) '' sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and hor ...

-covered boulders, and

Japanese maple ''Acer palmatum'', commonly known as Japanese maple, palmate maple, or smooth Japanese maple (Japanese: ''irohamomiji'', , or ''momiji'', (栴), is a species of woody plant native to Japan, Korea, China, eastern Mongolia, and southeast Russia. ...

s that turn red and gold during autumn.

Training

Fukan-Zazengi-Instructions-for-Zazen-1233

Today, Eihei-ji is the main training temple of Sōtō Zen. The standard training for a priest in Eihei-ji is from three months to a two-year period of practice. It is in communion with all Japanese Soto Zen temples, and some temples in America, including the

San Francisco Zen Center San Francisco Zen Center (SFZC), is a network of affiliated Sōtō Zen practice and retreat centers in the San Francisco Bay area, comprising City Center or Beginner's Mind Temple, Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, and Green Gulch Farm Zen Center. Th ...

. Fukuyama Taiho

Zenji Zen master is a somewhat vague English language, English term that arose in the first half of the 20th century, sometimes used to refer to an individual who teaches Zen Buddhist meditation and practices, usually implying longtime study and sub ...

is the head priest or abbot, who oversees trainees at Eihei-ji, and also serves as the head priest of Sotoshu (the Sōtō school of Zen) for two years beginning late January 2012. Head priests at Eihei-ji and Sōji-ji alternate terms leading Sotoshu. Fukuyama Zenji is serving his second term (his first term was from January 2008 to January 2010). About two hundred or two hundred fifty priests and nuns in training are in residence. A single

tatami A is a type of mat used as a flooring material in traditional Japanese-style rooms. Tatamis are made in standard sizes, twice as long as wide, about 0.9 m by 1.8 m depending on the region. In martial arts, tatami are the floor used for traini ...

, a by mat laid in rows on a raised platform called a ''tan'' in a common room, is provided for each trainee to eat, sleep, and meditate on. The monks start their day at 3:30 a.m., or one hour later during winter, when they do

zazen ''Zazen'' (literally " seated meditation"; ja, 座禅; , pronounced ) is a meditative discipline that is typically the primary practice of the Zen Buddhist tradition. However, the term is a general one not unique to Zen, and thus technicall ...

and read and chant

sutra ''Sutra'' ( sa, सूत्र, translit=sūtra, translit-std=IAST, translation=string, thread)Monier Williams, ''Sanskrit English Dictionary'', Oxford University Press, Entry fo''sutra'' page 1241 in Indian literary traditions refers to an aph ...

s. Breakfast is a bowl of

rice gruel Congee or conjee ( ) is a type of rice porridge or gruel eaten in Asian countries. It can be eaten plain, where it is typically served with side dishes, or it can be served with ingredients such as meat, fish, seasonings and flavourings, most o ...

with

pickles Pickles may refer to: Dogs * Pickles (dog) (died 1967), a dog that found the stolen World Cup trophy in 1966 * Pickles (pickleball), a dog often cited as the name origin for the sport of pickleball * Mr. Pickles, the titular demonic dog in an ...

. Then they do chores: clean, weed and, if needed, shovel snow. The floors and corridors have been polished smooth by daily cleaning for hundreds of years. Then they read and chant again. Dinner at 5 p.m. is meagre and ritualized: the position of the bowl and utensils is observed. Zazen or a lecture follows before bed at 9 p.m. The trainees shave each other's heads and take a bath every five days (every time the date contains a 4 or 9). Roshi-honorary Abbot

Eihei-ji has sought, since medieval times, a source of income by soliciting monks to purchase honorary titles. Monks may progress through four ''hōkai'' (dharma ranks) with some time requirements of months or years between ranks. The final step in becoming a priest is which means becoming (abbot for one night) at both head temples (Eihei-ji and Sōji-ji). ''Zuise'' entails paying each temple 50,000 yen (about 605 as of April 2012) for the ceremony (and about 50 to the official photographer). A monk receives an honorary meal and a bag of souvenirs at Eihei-ji and then, within one month, repeats the ceremony at Sōji-ji. The monk is then considered an ''oshō'' (priest and teacher).

Tourism

Asakura Yakata of Ichijodani Asakura Family Historic Ruins02s3s4440

Visitors must dress modestly and keep silent. They may attend one to three day meditation retreats for a fee. Each visitor receives a list of rules, for example photography of the priests-in-training is prohibited. More than one million visitors used to pass through the gates of Eihei-ji, but as of 2003 only 800,000 came, a period in which the train service from Fukui to nearby Eiheijiguchi Station was temporarily halted. A memorial service, a major source of revenue for Eihei-ji, has been held every fifty years since the 16th century on the anniversary of Dōgen ''Zenjis entering nirvana. For example, in 1752 about 23,700 monks attended, which raised enough money to rebuild the main gate. Groups from all over the world including a group from San Francisco formed to make a pilgrimage to Eihei-ji for the 750th anniversary in 2002. In 1905, Eihei-ji held its first conference called ''Genzō e'' on Dōgen ''Zenjis ''

''. It succeeded in attracting so many interested parties that it became an annual event. Monks and laypersons, along with academic and popular writers can attend workshops each year. The

Ichijōdani Asakura Family Historic Ruins The are historic ruins located in the Kidonouchi section of the city of Fukui, Fukui Prefecture, in the Hokuriku region of Japan. This area was controlled by the Asakura clan_for_103_years_during_the_ ">DF_7_of_80">"Asa_..._for_103_years_during_ ...

and museum are about from Fukui and are reachable from the temple. Five generations of the Asakura ''

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and n ...

'' clan lived there until 1573, when the town was razed by

Oda Nobunaga was a Japanese ''daimyō'' and one of the leading figures of the Sengoku period. He is regarded as the first "Great Unifier" of Japan. Nobunaga was head of the very powerful Oda clan, and launched a war against other ''daimyō'' to unify ...

loyalists.

Denuclearization

Following the

2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami The occurred at 14:46 JST (05:46 UTC) on 11 March. The magnitude 9.0–9.1 (M) undersea megathrust earthquake had an epicenter in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Oshika Peninsula of the Tōhoku region, and lasted approximately six minutes ...

, according to ''Religious Dispatches'' magazine, Eihei-ji "mobilized clergy to accompany members of its volunteer organization Shanti International Association who will travel to northeastern Japan to aid in relief efforts". Then in November 2011, priests at Eihei-ji held a symposium for 300 people called ''Cherish Our Lives: The Way of Living that We don't Choose Nuclear Power Generation'' on the subject of denuclearization. Two reactors in Fukui Prefecture were given the names of bodhisattvas:

Monju Nuclear Power Plant was a Japanese sodium-cooled fast reactor, located near the Tsuruga Nuclear Power Plant, Fukui Prefecture. Its name is a reference to Manjusri. Construction started in 1986 and the reactor achieved criticality for the first time in April 1994. ...

and

Fugen Nuclear Power Plant Fugen was a prototype Japanese nuclear test reactor. Fugen was a domestic Japanese design for a demonstration Advanced Thermal Reactor. It was a heavy water moderated, boiling light water cooled reactor. The reactor was started in 1979 and s ...

. The chairman of the

Power Reactor and Nuclear Fuel Development Corporation The or for short, was a Japanese nuclear energy research organization established 2 October 1967 with the Atomic Fuel Corporation as its parent organization and disbanded in 1998 to be restructured as the Japan Nuclear Cycle Development Institut ...

had apparently misunderstood upon visiting the temple. When he told the abbot the proposed names, the ''Zenji'' had replied, "That's nice." After the symposium, a priest explained, "We have realized that the nuclear power generation goes against life on the earth."

Gallery

File:Eiheiji34st3200.jpg, ''Hatto'' (Dharma hall) File:Eiheiji Shidoden.jpg, ''Shidoden'' (Memorial Hall) File:Eihei-ji Yokushitsu 永平寺浴室.jpg, ''Yokushitsu'' (bath) File:Eiheiji15s4592.jpg, One of the covered corridors File:The main entrance of Eihei ji.jpg, The main entrance File:Eiheiji main gate.jpg, Sakamon Gate File:A stream flowing beside Eiheiji.jpg, A stream flowing beside Eiheiji

Branches

;Japan * Chōkoku-ji (長谷寺), also known as the Eihei-ji Tokyo Betsuin (永平寺東京別院), in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

. * Chuō-ji (中央寺), also known as the Eihei-ji Sapporo Betsuin (永平寺札幌別院), in

Sapporo ( ain, サッ・ポロ・ペッ, Satporopet, lit=Dry, Great River) is a city in Japan. It is the largest city north of Tokyo and the largest city on Hokkaido, the northernmost main island of the country. It ranks as the fifth most populous city ...

. * Taianden-gokoku-in (泰安殿護国院), also known as the Eihei-ji Nagoya Betsuin　(永平寺名古屋別院), in

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most pop ...

. * Shōryū-ji (紹隆寺), also known as the Eihei-ji Kagoshima Shutchōjo　(永平寺鹿児島出張所), in

Kagoshima , abbreviated to , is the capital city of Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. Located at the southwestern tip of the island of Kyushu, Kagoshima is the largest city in the prefecture by some margin. It has been nicknamed the "Naples of the Eastern wor ...

. ;U.S.A * Zenshuji Soto Mission

Notes

External links

Film 'Life of Zen', depicting life at Eihei-ji and Soji-ji

{{Authority control Religious organizations established in the 1240s Soto temples Buddhist temples in Fukui Prefecture 1240s establishments in Japan 1244 establishments in Asia Eiheiji, Fukui Echizen Province Dōgen