A blaze of autumn leaves is covering the approach to the modest wooden gate leading to the Shariden (reliquary hall, National Treasure) and the Zen Dojo (training hall) of this old Zen temple. This gate is always closed not to allow outsiders to interfere with the quiet practice in the Zen Dojo.
The handwriting on the left wood plate hung on this gate reads "We advocate the Rinzai Roku." The Rinzai Roku is a collection of words by Rinzai Gigen (?-867), the founder of the Rinzai school of Zen Buddhism.
It has long been regarded as the most important scripture of the Rinzai sect and has been read as an essential model for Zen practitioners.
Rinzai asserted the principle of "Furyu-monji," which is the notion that the status of enlightenment cannot be expressed in characters or discourses. In addition to this, he emphasized "Shishi-sosho," that is, the teachings and the way of Buddhism must handed down intuitively from a teacher to a disciple without words or letters in a mind-to-mind way by the use of "Koan" or "Zen mondo (Zen riddle)."
The the handwriting on right wood plate reads "the Dojo (training hall) dedicated to the Rinzai school."
The small black wood plate says that the strictest Zen practice called "Rohatsu Sessin" is currently being carried out in the Zen Dojo.
"Rohatsu Sesshin" is a Zazen practice held in memory of the Sakyamuni Buddha's enlightenment on the eighth day of December.
”Rohatsu” refers to the month of December and the eighth day of this month, and “Sesshin” means “to gather the mind”. In many Zen Dojo, it take places from the first day to the morning of the eighth day of December and is considered to be the most demanding period of training.
During Rohatsu Sesshin, the doors of the Zen hall are all closed and trainee monks must concentrate on Zazen meditation. A 45-minutes Zazen session and a 10-minutes sutra practice are repeated throughout the day and night.
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