David Sandoz
(Photos I took from my time at the temple:)
The Shoganji temple is a 5-10 minute walk from the seaside village of Saganoseki. Saganoseki is a peaceful village famous for its fishing and rice fields. The area is surrounded by scenic mountainsides which feature numerous osen hot springs. The Shoganji temple has deep ties to the local community and hosts guests from all over the world. The temple is based on facilitating silence and solitude for those residing at Shoganji. I wanted to highlight my experience of staying at the Shoganji temple in the fall of 2020 and how ‘Samu’ is a practice that holds the establishment together.
Jiho Kongo runs the Shoganji temple, a monk with extensive knowledge of Rinzai Buddhism. Jiho conducted his training at Japan’s strictest monastery, Shogen-Ji, in the Gifu Prefecture. He traveled to several monasteries and learned from many other Zen masters. Jiho led the morning and evening meditations and explained the principles of Buddhism during mealtimes.
A typical day at the Shoganji temple started at 5 am when Jiho Kongo would yell to wake me up. I would walk to a meditation hall and enter a 30-minute morning chanting routine. A 2-hour silent meditation followed the morning chanting. After the morning meditation, we were given 30 minutes for tea and water before heading to the temple’s garden. The garden was full of weeds which I spent the first half of my stay uprooting for roughly 2 hours a day. It was hard to judge precisely how much time was spent on each activity as there was only one clock at the temple. After working in the garden, it was time for the first meal of the day, typically around 1 pm. This would end the 17-hour fasting period. After lunch, Jiho instructed us to help by cleaning and tending to the temple. Some days, this meant building a fire to burn the trash or sweep the temple grounds. Helping out around the temple was referred to as “Samu.” Samu is a slow, quiet, and meditative activity and part of the monastic life in Japan. After lunch, I walked around the nearby town or went to the local hot springs. The afternoon is uneventful, and the day ends with dinner and an evening meditation session before sleeping at 8 pm.
(Photos I took from my time at the temple:)
Staying at the temple was unlike any other experience I have ever had. Growing up in New York City, I was accustomed to constant noise and simulation. I became accustomed to falling asleep to sirens and other people’s voices on the street. On my first night at the temple, I reflected on the differences, and it was unsettling to live without the background noise.
It is interesting to see how the temple and the land around it are maintained and how it acts as a place for religious congregations. The land helps one reach a higher level of spirituality. The practice of ‘Samu’ is a silent and slow practice to maintain the grounds, making the action a meditative practice. Most of the work done at the temple is gardening, plowing the field, burning trash, or sweeping; none are unique to this temple, but the added silence and slow movement heighten the experience. Samu is understood to be essential for the daily workings of monasteries. Small activities, usually seen as everyday household chores, are carried out in the spirit of generosity, a core value of Buddhism. The idea is that participants dedicate themselves to whatever task they are assigned in a peaceful and mindful manner. The mindful approach to these activities allows participants to get more out of the activity and create a stronger impact on the temple by helping the effort to maintain the religious site.
‘Samu’ was a foreign concept to me when I first arrived, but as I continued to practice it, I accepted the importance of the practice. The culture of generosity allows monasteries to maintain themselves for others to experience. I saw ‘Samu’ as the action of preserving an experience and a place for future visitors.
The Shoganji temple and the nearby temples boast a long history that span back to the 700s. Emperor Genmei founded the shrines in the area in the 6th year of Wado, which was the year 713. The red dot is where the Shoganji temple is located.
Sources:
西岡神宮について: 安産祈願ができる神社をお探しなら熊本県宇土市の西岡神宮へお越し下さい。. 西岡神宮について | 安産祈願の神社なら熊本県宇土市の西岡神宮. (n.d.). Retrieved November 10, 2022, from http://www.nishioka-jinguu.net/shrine.php
Orientation. Shōganji Zen Retreat. (2019, May 6). Retrieved November 10, 2022, from https://zenretreat.com/orientation/
Practicing Samu. Practicing samu | Zen Meditation. (n.d.). Retrieved November 10, 2022, from https://meditation-zen.org/en/meditation-samu
