gate for visitors
corridor
vegetarian food
from Haku-san village observatory
Shirakawa-go House of an A-frame
Cormorant used for fishing
Konpon Chudo
I went to a travel hosted by Soto Zen Buddhism Okayama religious affairs from November 3 to November 5.
On November 3
We visited Eiheiji at Fukui prefecture by bus.
It was my first time to go there and I was worrying about the event we would experience there.
After relaxing for a short while, we took a bath.
After that, supper for vegetarian food was served.
Next we saw a DVD that showed the way of living of priests there after sitting in ZEN meditation for about twenty minutes.
And a sermon was also told by a priest.
He talked about the importance and value of ZAZEN.
We would be peace in mind if we sit without thinking anything.
We went to bed at nine at a big tatami room with visitors of this tour.
On November 4
We got up about 4:30 and listened to a sermon by a priest again, which was also a nice one.
Next we went up a long corridor to Hatto where 60 or 70 priests morning raised some kinds of sutra together.
That was very solemn and I was deeply impressed.
And our ancestor's memorial service was also held.
We took breakfast of vegetarian food after a young priest guided inside of Eiheiji.
I felt something valuable by staying a night there.
We left Eiheiji at 8:30 and went to Shirakawa-go by bus.
After that we visited Nagaragawa hot spring and enjoyed a party and relaxed in the hot spring.
On November 5
We went 'cormorant museum' in the morning and learned about cormorant fishing.
After that we went to Knpontyudo at Enryakuji in Hieizan.
I had been there for about 55 years before as a school trip.
This trip was meaningful for me because it was not only sightseeing but also visiting Eiheiji.
