Searching for Satori

Taiyōji, a Zen temple belonging to the Kenchōji branch of the Rinzai sect, is said to have been founded in 1313 by a son of emperor Go-Saga. The main hall was rebuilt in the eighteenth century.

Participants are free to chant the sutra if they wish. They can also stroll the temple grounds or sit on the engawa veranda to enjoy the scenery. In the words of head priest Asami, “In Zen teaching, the sound of water rushing through a valley is a sutra and a mountain is the Buddha.”

Copied sutras can be presented to the temple or kept as a prayer talisman.

The stone outdoor bath, built by chief priest Asami himself, took one year to complete. He filled it with water from a mineral spring bubbling up from underground in the foothills that he ferried back by car.

Head priest Asami entered religious life at the age of 35 after quitting his office job, training at the Kyoto temple Myōshinji. Temple food is served in red lacquered dishware. The most popular dish, kenchin-jiru in light miso soup (at lower right), is the temple’s specialty.

On the second morning of our stay, our group walked to a nearby park and welcomed the rising sun with yoga.

The basic sitting pose is right foot over left thigh, left foot over right thigh. If that is too difficult, seiza (sitting with legs folded under oneself) is allowed.

Advice from the head priest: “The more you try to think of nothing, the more you will experience distractions. Try picturing being deep under the ocean.”