His soothing words are what I need to hear at 6am as I settle down for the daily meditation at Rengejo-in, a 600-year-old temple whose name means "temple of the lotus flower".
Early spring snow covers the stone lamps and temple pavilions of the Garan holy precinct.
Temples are a common sight on Koyasan, a mountain which forms part of the Kii ranges of south-eastern Honshu and is considered the home of one of Japan's oldest religions, Shingon Esoteric Buddhism.
A monastery was founded here in AD816 by a monk named Kukai, or Kobodaishi, as he is posthumously known.
More than 1,200 years on, his retreat draws over half a million pilgrims and tourists every year. Most of them arrive by a two-hour train ride from Osaka.
"This is hallowed ground for the Japanese. I feel an overwhelming sense of tranquillity among the forests and temples here," says Ms Chizuru Ono, a pilgrim whose visit to Koya-san marks the end of her journey to 33 temples in the greater Osaka region. (More)
Source: AsiaOne
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