| Eihei-ji 永平寺 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Eihei-jiSōtō |
| Deity | Shaka Nyorai (Śākyamuni) Miroku Butsu (Maitreya) Amida Nyorai (Amitābha) |
| Status | Head Temple |
| Location | |
| Location | 5-15 Shihi,Eiheiji-chō,Yoshida District,Fukui Prefecture |
| Country | Japan |
  Shown within Japan | |
| Geographic coordinates | 36°3′11″N136°21′20″E / 36.05306°N 136.35556°E /36.05306; 136.35556 |
| Architecture | |
| Founder | Dōgen andHatano Yoshishige |
| Completed | 1244 |
Eihei-ji (永平寺) is one of two main temples of theSōtō school ofZenBuddhism, the largest single religious denomination in Japan (by number of temples in a single legal entity).[1] The other isSōji-ji inYokohama. Eihei-ji is located about 15 km (9 mi) east ofFukui inFukui Prefecture, Japan. In English, its name means "temple of eternal peace" (in Japanese, 'ei' means "eternal", 'hei' means "peaceful", and 'ji' means "Buddhist temple").[2][3]
Its founder wasEihei Dōgen, who brought Sōtō Zen from China to Japan during the 13th century. The ashes of Dōgen and a memorial to him are in theJōyōden (the Founder's Hall) at Eihei-ji.William Bodiford ofUCLA writes that, "The rural monastery Eiheiji in particular aggrandized Dōgen to bolster its own authorityvis-à-vis its institutional rivals within the Sōtō denomination."[1]
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'sMahayana tradition, the iconography in various buildings is an array of potential confusion for newcomers:[4] at theSanmon are four kings standing guard namedShitenno; the Buddha hall's main altar has three statues of Buddhaspast,present andfuture; theHatto displaysKannon thebodhisattva of compassion, and four white lions (called thea-un noshishi); theYokushitsu hasBaddabara; theSanshokaku has a statue ofHotei; and theTosu displaysUcchusma.[5]
Dōgen founded Eihei-ji in 1244 with the nameSanshoho Daibutsuji in the woods of rural Japan, quite far from the distractions ofKamakura period urban life. He appointed a successor, but sometime after his death the abbacy of Eihei-ji became hotly disputed, a schism now called thesandai sōron. Until 1468, Eihei-ji was not held by the currentKeizan line of Sōtō, but by the line of Dōgen's Chinese discipleJakuen.[6] After 1468, when the Keizan line took ownership of Eihei-ji in addition to its major templeSōji-ji 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:
"Dōgen's memory has helped keep Eihei-ji financially secure, in good repair, and filled with monks and lay pilgrims who look to Dōgen for religious inspiration. Eiheiji has become Dōgen's place, the temple where Dōgen is remembered, where Dōgen's Zen is practiced, where Dōgen'sShōbōgenzō is published, where it is read, and where one goes to learn Dōgen's Buddhism. As we remember Dōgen, we should also remember that remembrance is not value neutral...."[1]
The entire temple was destroyed by fire several times. During the late 16th century, disciples ofIkkō-shū attacked and burned the temple and surrounding buildings.[7] Its oldest standing structure dates from 1794.
Today the temple grounds cover about 330,000 m2 (0.13 sq mi).[8] TheButsuden (Buddha hall) main altar carries statues of the Buddhas of the Three Times: right to left,Amida Butsu (past),Shakyamuni Butsu (present), andMiroku Bosatsu (future).[9]
Among the temple's 70 structures[8] are theSanmon (gate),Hatto (lecture hall),Sōdo (Priest's or meditation hall),Daiku-in (kitchen, three stories and a basement),[9]Yokushitsu (bath) andTosu (toilet, Dōgen'sShōbōgenzō includes a chapter on manners appropriate for the toilet. Most of his rules are still followed today[9]).[10] TheShōrō (belfry) holds theobon sho, the great brahman bell. TheShidoden (Memorial Hall) contains thousands of tablets for deceased laypersons. TheJoyoden (Founders hall) contains the ashes of Dōgen and his successors.[9] Here, images of the deceased are served food daily like they are living teachers. TheKichijokaku (visitor's center) is a large four-story modern building for lay persons, with kitchen, bath, sleeping rooms and a hall for zazen.[9]
The bronze temple bell dates to 1327 and is anImportant Cultural Property.[11][12] TheSanmon andCentral Gate date from the 1794 rebuilding and arePrefectural Cultural Properties.[13][14] A number of important manuscripts belong to the temple, including theNational TreasureUniversally Recommended Instructions forZazen, by temple founderDōgen (1233);[15] teachings he brought back fromSong China (1227);[16] and a record of a subsidy for the earlier Sanmon in the hand ofEmperor Go-En'yū (1372).[17]
Spread over a hillside, the complex is surrounded bycedar trees, some 100 feet (30 m) tall and as old as the temple.[18] It is surrounded by bright greenmoss-covered boulders, andJapanese maples that turn red and gold during autumn.[19]
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 theSan Francisco Zen Center.
Fukuyama TaihoZenji 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).[20]
About two hundred or two hundred fifty[8] priests and nuns[18] in training are in residence.[3] A singletatami, a 1 metre (3.3 ft) by 2 metres (6.6 ft) mat laid in rows on a raised platform called atan in a common room, is provided for each trainee to eat, sleep, and meditate on.[18]
The monks start their day at 3:30 a.m., or one hour later during winter, when they dozazen and read and chantsutras. Breakfast is a bowl ofrice gruel withpickles.[21] 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.[21] 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.[18] The trainees shave each other's heads and take a bath every five days[19] (every time the date contains a 4 or 9).[9]
Eihei-ji has sought, since medieval times, a source of income by soliciting monks to purchase honorary titles.[1] Monks may progress through fourhōkai (dharma ranks) with some time requirements of months or years between ranks. The final step in becoming a priest iszuise which means becomingichiya-no-jūshoku (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 anoshō (priest and teacher).[22]
Visitors must dress modestly and keep silent. They may attend one to three day meditation retreats for a fee.[18] Each visitor receives a list of rules, for example photography of the priests-in-training is prohibited.[2] More than one million visitors used to pass through the gates of Eihei-ji,[8] but as of 2003 only 800,000 came, a period in which the train service from Fukui to nearbyEiheijiguchi Station was temporarily halted.[19]
A memorial service, a major source of revenue for Eihei-ji,[1] has been held every fifty years since the 16th century on the anniversary of DōgenZenji's entering nirvana. For example, in 1752 about 23,700 monks attended, which raised enough money to rebuild the main gate.[1] 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.[23]
In 1905, Eihei-ji held its first conference calledGenzō e on Dōgen Zenji'sShōbōgenzō. 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.[1]
TheIchijōdani Asakura Family Historic Ruins and museum are about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) from Fukui and are reachable from the temple. Five generations of theAsakuradaimyō clan lived there until 1573, when the town was razed byOda Nobunaga loyalists.[8]
Following the2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, according toReligious 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".[24]
Then in November 2011, priests at Eihei-ji held a symposium for 300 people calledCherish Our Lives: The Way of Living that We don't Choose Nuclear Power Generation on the subject ofdenuclearization. Two reactors in Fukui Prefecture were given the names of bodhisattvas:Monju Nuclear Power Plant andFugen Nuclear Power Plant. The chairman of thePower Reactor and Nuclear Fuel Development Corporation had apparently misunderstood upon visiting the temple. When he told the abbot the proposed names, theZenji 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."[25]
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