After we paid an admission fee, we were showed to a big Japanese-style room. A monk showed up here and gave a short lesson to us visitors for some time. He told us that around 200 ascetic monks were undergoing strict training all the time. In the grounds of Eiheiji temple, there are a few dozen buildings and he told us about some of the main ones. You can see the outline from the rough sketch in the picture. This temple was built on the slope and the stairs in the second picture are the way to the main hall that is located at the highest point.
The numbers of visitors was not so small and several monks were walking or working to and fro. Some visitors wanted to pose together with the monks, but it was prohibited to take pictures of the monks. However, if you are interested in the monks' life, you are welcomed by the temple. The temple offers some programs for visitors. You can stay three nights and experience a similar training as the monks. It was considerably hard work, but I'm thinking of taking it, maybe next summer.
The last picture is the official entrance that was shot from the inside. Only the head of the temple can use this entrance as the doorway. The ascetic monks are allowed to pass this entrance only twice in their lives, that is the time they arrived at the temple for training and the time they leave the temple.
(Vocabulary)
ascetic monk 修行僧
ascetic 苦行の, 禁欲的な
Very nice photos. I love the temples of Japan. I felt at peace when I had visited them long ago (Kyoto). It gives a feeling of permanence and solidity in a culture that preserves and protects that which is of importance to it.
Posted by: Shiroi_Tora | Aug 14, 2011 at 06:23 AM