statues of former abbots and is also used for formal talks by the abbot. The columns supporting the roofs are made of sturdy zelkova (keyaki) wood. The slightly curved ‘mirror ceilings‘ bear magnificent paintings of dragons, thought to help guard against fire and evil spirits. Shielded beneath the dragons’ protection, the Dharma could be preached without fear.
❼ Meditation Hall (Zendo or Sodo) This hall plays a vital role in the monastery. Along the sides runs a raised platform on which monks sit in zazen meditation on zabuton cushions. The open space in the middle may be used for walking meditation. There is usually an image of Monju, bodhisattva of wisdom, whose vajra sword cuts through all delusion. The meditation space is combined with a training hall, where monks are allotted one tatami on which to live, with storage for bedding and shelving for a few possessions.
❽ Kitchen (Kuri) Traditionally, the kitchen is situated next to the Abbot’s Quarters. Many monasteries have vegetable gardens to cater for the vegetarian diet of the monks, with a typical meal comprising rice, miso soup, a vegetable side dish, pickles and green tea.
❾ Latrine (Tousu) The traditional toilet comprises a circular hole in the earthen floor. To cater for large numbers, neat rows of such holes were housed in a long wooden building. (The restored latrines at Tofuku-ji, oldest and largest of its type, catered for a hundred people at a time.) In the past, human excrement was a major source of income for the temples as it was used for manure and delivered to the estates of nobles and samurai warriors.
❿ Baths (Yokushitsu) The bath house used steam to conserve natural resources, since conventional baths would have consumed an inordinate amount of wood and water. There was a highly prescribed ritual for bathing, which was considered a form of spiritual practice. There are restored bath houses at Shokoku-ji, Myoshin-ji and Tofuku-ji. (In smaller institutions, the kitchen, latrine and baths were housed in a single building.)
⓫ Abbot’s Quarters (Hojo) The Japanese name Hojo translates as ‘Ten Foot Square Hut’, indicative of how small the original area was. Over time, as Zen was patronized by those in power, the Abbot’s Quarters became an important meeting place and grew in prestige. A covered walkway connected the building to the Lecture Hall (Hatto/Hodo), to which the abbot would proceed in his finery to deliver the important Dharma talk. Fusama sliding doors divided the area into six sections, with three south-facing rooms for entertaining dignitaries and three north-facing rooms for more private purposes. Generally speaking, the southern set contain a central altar flanked by sliding screens painted by famous artists, and the rooms look onto a courtyard covered with fine white gravel to provide a dignified air. The northern rooms typically have a living area, a study and a room for meeting acolytes. These look onto a more informal type of garden, sometimes used by the abbot for instructional purposes.
⓬ Bell Tower (Shoro) The monastery’s largest bell is rung at dawn and dusk each day. As at other temples, it is also struck 108 times for the New Year, each strike ringing out one of the attachments to which humans are prey.
⓭ Sutra Hall (Kyozo) A small building with shelving for storage of sutras and other documents. The sutras are scriptures passed down by tradition as the legacy of the historical Buddha. Originally, these were transmitted orally (in Pali) by his disciples, in particular Ananda. Different sects of Buddhism privilege certain sutra, and for Zen it is the Heart Sutra (Hannya Shingyo).
⓮ Founder’s Hall (Kaisando) This is a hall for veneration of the founding figure of the monastery where special memorial services are held.
⓯ Subtemples (Tachu) Over the centuries, subtemples proliferated along the sides of the main temple axis. Many contain items of great value, such as paintings, dry landscape gardens and rustic tea houses. Most were funded by powerful patrons and staffed by monks who had retired from formal duties. Some were constructed by samurai who had converted to Zen and wanted to pursue a religious life.
⓰ Shinto Shrines (Jinja) The custom of paying respect to guardian deities (kami) was part of the Japanese tradition before the arrival of Zen, and continues today. In some cases, shrines were already in place before monasteries were built, and they were maintained for protective reasons. Other shrines were added later, even as recently as the late nineteenth century when Buddhism fell out of favor (and over 20,000 temples were destroyed). Temples sought to appease the authorities by establishing Shinto shrines to show compliance with the new state religion.
Visions of Serenity:
The Zen Garden
Japanese gardens have a long history, stretching back even before the pleasure gardens of Heian nobles (794–1186). These featured a pond around which were set villas and pavilions. Here aristocratic pursuits took place, such as fishing, moon-viewing, poetry writing and boating. Shorelines were replicated by rocks along the margin of a pond and waterfalls were reproduced by water emerging from between rocks. Some of the gardens were given a spiritual dimension by evocations of Amida’s western paradise, with its promise of salvation. By the eleventh century, the sophisticated gardening knowledge had been collected in Japan’s first book on the subject, Sakuteiki (Notes on Garden Construction).
Kyoto’s flourishing garden culture was facilitated by the city’s location in a river basin. In the forested surrounds were plentiful resources of wood and stone. Added to this was fresh-flowing water and underground springs. Moreover, the humid climate lends itself to the cultivation of moss, which grows easily on untended soil (Japan has only 0.25 percent of the Earth’s surface but is home to nearly 10 percent of known moss varieties).
With the introduction of Zen, a new of type of thinking permeated garden design. Rather than a place to enter, the garden became a place to view. As a consequence, most of the gardens in Zen temples are enclosed, as if to frame the scene and stop the mind from wandering. It is worth noting,however, that there is no such term as ‘Zen garden’ in Japanese. Rather, there are garden types that have been adapted to a Zen setting. Although they come in various forms, they share underlying characteristics to do with a lack of ostentation, an inclination to tranquility, a tendency for symbolism and an ‘elegant mystery’ (yugen). The Daoist connections are reflected in a sense of flow and the frequent reference to Chinese myth.
Bonsai originated in China and was adopted by the Japanese following the introduction of Zen. The tray here was a New Year’s gift to Taizo-in and features the ‘three friends of winter’—plum, pine and bamboo. Tending to temple gardens takes up to seven full days a month.
