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Honenin is a small temple dedicated to Honen (1133-1212), the founder of Jodo Buddhism. It lies in Shishigatani, east of the Philosopher’ s Path which runs along a small stream from Ginkakuji to Nanzenji and skirts along the foot of the Higashiyama range. the path is so called because the philosopher Dr. Nishida Kitaro, who taught at nearby Kyoto University, often used to walk here.

The head temple of Jodo Buddhism is Chionin, a huge pile with a gate even larger than the one of Higashi Honganji. The temple is also famous for its large bell, which is struck by a whole team of priests for the ritual 108 ringings at year-end. But Chionin is too big, too formal for me to feel close to Honen. On a blistering summer afternoon I therefore visit this small temple named after him.

A wooded lane leads away from the city to the peacefulness of the temple. Under the trees, it is immediately much cooler. I pass a bamboo ticket, which has occasional giant camellias and enter via the characteristic thatched gate, symbolic of the rustic quietness here. After all, less than a hundred years ago, this area was countryside. Honenin used to be a small, rural temple.

After entering the gate, on both sides of the path I pass between two large oblong mounds of sand. This is very original as karesansui or dry sand gardens go. The mounds, called byakushadan, have designs raked into them, one a water motif, the other a leaf. These designs are renewed by the priest every few days and they apparently change with the seasons.

Next I come to a pond, the Hojo Ike or Pond for Releasing Life, with large carp as often found in temples and a small stone bridge. The path reminds me of the rough stony walkways in tea gardens, it turns right and left again to skirt along the buildings. The temple buildings are not open to visitors except the first weeks of April and November. I pass a mossy garden in which a large stone bowl stands. Inside the bowl lie scattered flowers, probably not by coincidence. There is also a large stone with the Buddha’s footprint here, showing the imprint of the Wheel of the Buddhist Law on the soles of his feet.

Then I reach the veranda of the Main Hall. This is as far as I can come. In front of me is the steep, wooded hill, with a cave in which a black Jizo statue stands. To my left, a wall fences off the garden of the Abbot’s Quarters, which is reputedly very beautiful but remains hidden from me.

Scattered Flowers
The Main Hall on which veranda I sit was built in 1680 by Priest Nincho on the site where Honen together with his disciples Anraku and Juren erected an image of the Buddha Amida to perform daily services. Honen performed Rokuji Raizan here, the worship of Amida six times a day. Amida sat bare on the hillside here until the present temple came. I do not know what has happened to that original statue. The Main Hall now houses an Amida statue sculpted by Eshin in the 17th c. The temple is small: it only consists of this one hall, the Abbot’s Quarters and a belfry and sutra library. The Abbot’s Quarters are said to have beautiful sliding screens drawn by Kano Mitsunobu, as well as screens by modern Japanese-style painter Domoto Insho.

I look inside the hall, in as far as that is possible. Vaguely, from the side, I manage to make out the Amida statue. He reposes on a very decorative throne. Then my eyes go to the temple floor, made of large wooden boards polished to a shiny finish. Some things are lying there, and then I recognize that I am looking at flowers, cut short without stems, and scattered on the floor. Later I learn that there are 25 of them and that they symbolize the host of Bodhisattvas who follow the Amida during Raigo, when he comes to meet dying believers to accompany them to his Pure Land.

The National Museums in Kyoto and Nara have several beautiful paintings of this Raigo, depicting Amida sailing down on a cloud or appearing behind a mountain range with his troupe of attending Bodhisattvas, but this is the first time I have seen it enacted with flowers. It is another original and elegant touch of Honenin. I realize that the flowers in the basin I passed in the garden are perhaps waiting their turn to be scattered in the hall tomorrow.

Calling on the Name
Together with Shinran, Dogen and Nichiren, Honen was one of the great reformers of Kamakura Buddhism. They all created popular and uniquely Japanese forms of Buddhism. In fact, Honen was the first of the four to break with the established centers of Tendai and Shingon. This break came when Honen was 43 and was in response to the Pure Land teachings of the Chinese master Shandao. Honen’s Nembutsu, or calling on the Name (and grace) of the Buddha Amida, has since become the most popular form of Buddhist devotion in Japan.

Honen lived in a time of turbulence and chaos. The old Buddhism held the people in its grip by devising notions of vengeful spirits and hell. Honen countered these negative images with his representation of the Pure Land. Everybody could be saved, there was no need for fear of hell or doom. The method could not be simpler: just call on the name of Amida, in sincerity.

The peaceful garden, very quiet on this hot summer day except for the droning of the cicadas, the elegant sand monuments and the flowers scattered at the feet of Amida, all these things speak of the purity of Amida’s Land.

Paradise does not exist on earth, but there are some places that at least help us imagine it.

Goshonodan-cho, Shishigatani, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto-shi
10-min. walk from Ginkakuji-mae bus stop (bus 5 from Kyoto St).
Grounds free. Normally, none of the buildings can be entered. Main Hall and Abbot’s Garden only open April 1 to 7 and Nov. 1 to 7, as well as on New Years Eve.