A kuri (庫裏, lit. warehouse behind) or kuin (庫院, lit. warehouse hall) is the kitchen of a Zen monastery, [1] typically located behind the butsuden (or, Buddha Hall). Historically the kuri was a kitchen which prepared meals only for the abbot and his guests, though in modern Japan it now functions as the kitchen and administrative office for the entire monastery. [2] [3]
Kuri may refer to:
The Ōbaku-shū (黄檗宗) is one of several schools of Zen in Japanese Buddhism, in addition to Sōtō and Rinzai.
Unsui, or kōun ryūsui (行雲流水) in full, is a term specific to Zen Buddhism which denotes a postulant awaiting acceptance into a monastery or a novice monk who has undertaken Zen training. Sometimes they will travel from monastery to monastery (angya) on a pilgrimage to find the appropriate Zen master with which to study.
Kenchō-ji (建長寺) is a Rinzai Zen temple in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, which ranks first among Kamakura's so-called Five Great Zen Temples and is the oldest Zen training monastery in Japan. These temples were at the top of the Five Mountain System, a network of Zen temples started by the Hōjō Regents. Still very large, it originally had a full shichidō garan and 49 subtemples.
Buddhist temples, or Buddhist monasteries together with Shinto shrines, are considered to be amongst the most numerous, famous, and important religious buildings in Japan. The shogunates or leaders of Japan have made it a priority to update and rebuild Buddhist temples since the Momoyama period. The Japanese word for a Buddhist temple is tera (寺), and the same kanji also has the pronunciation ji, so that temple names frequently end in -dera or -ji. Another ending, -in (院), is normally used to refer to minor temples. Such famous temples as Kiyomizu-dera, Enryaku-ji, and Kōtoku-in are temples which use the described naming pattern.
Tenryū-ji (天龍寺), formally known as Tenryū Shiseizen-ji (天龍資聖禅寺), is the head temple of the Tenryū-ji branch of the Rinzai sect of Zen Buddhism, located in Susukinobaba-chō, Ukyō Ward, Kyoto, Japan. The temple was founded by Ashikaga Takauji in 1339, primarily to venerate Gautama Buddha, and its first chief priest was Musō Soseki. Construction was completed in 1345. As a temple related to both the Ashikaga family and Emperor Go-Daigo, the temple is held in high esteem, and is ranked number one among Kyoto's so-called Five Mountains. In 1994, it was registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as part of the "Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto".
A jikijitsu (直日) is the directing monk in charge of every movement of the monks coming to sit zazen in the zendo in a Japanese Zen monastery of the Rinzai School. Their position is that of head monk, and they are generally regarded as strict disciplinarians. Their position is considered most desirable to hold in the meditation hall. The jikijitsu also ensures that the monks get to sleep and wake up on time according to a strict protocol.
Angya (行脚) is a term used in Zen Buddhism in reference to the traditional pilgrimage a monk or nun makes from monastery to monastery, literally translated as "to go on foot." The term also applies to the modern practice in Japan of an unsui journeying to seek admittance into a monastery for the first time. These unsui traditionally wear and/or carry a kasa, white cotton leggings, straw sandals, a kesa, a satchel, razor, begging bowls (hachi) and straw raincoat. When arriving the novice typically proffers an introductory letter and then must wait for acceptance for a period of days called tangaryō. Upon admittance he undergoes a probationary period known as tanga-zume. Considered an aspect of the early monk's training, angya had in ancient times lasted for many years for some. For instance, Bankei Yōtaku undertook a four-year angya upon leaving Zuiō-ji in 1641.
A kaisan-dō, also termed the Founder's Hall, is a temple structure in a Japanese Buddhist monastery complex or other temple where an image of the founding abbot and other significant teachers and Buddha ancestors are kept, along with a memorial slab. Sometimes also referred to as the Patriarch Hall (soshido) or Reflection Hall (Eishitsu), this building holds memorial services yearly on the anniversary of the death of the founding abbot.
An umpan is a flat gong, usually bronze, which is rung at mealtime in a Zen monastery. Literally translated as "cloud plate," the umpan is also sounded to "signal other events," such as a call to the conclusion of zazen. Typically one will find an umpan outside the kitchen or dining hall area. According to Helen J. Baroni, "Wooden boards (han) hanging on various buildings throughout the temple grounds are sounded simultaneously to alert the members of the community beyond the range of the umpan."
Kaisan (開山) is a Japanese term used in reference to the founder of a school of Buddhism or the founding abbot of a Zen monastery, literally meaning "mountain founder" or "to open a mountain." Ch'an monasteries of China and Japan have traditionally been built in mountainous regions, with the name of whatever mountain it has been built upon then fixed upon the monastery as well as the founding abbot.
This is the glossary of Japanese Buddhism, including major terms the casual reader might find useful in understanding articles on the subject. Words followed by an asterisk (*) are illustrated by an image in one of the photo galleries. Within definitions, words set in boldface are defined elsewhere in the glossary.
Shichidō garan is a Japanese Buddhist term indicating the seven halls composing the ideal Buddhist temple compound. This compound word is composed by the word shichidō (七堂), literally meaning "seven halls", and garan (伽藍), meaning "temple". The term is often shortened to just garan. Which seven halls the term refers to varies, and it is also pointed out that 七堂 is possibly a misinterpretation of shitsudō (悉堂), meaning a complete temple. In practice, shichidō garan often simply means a large temple with many buildings. See below for more details about what are the possible seven buildings included.
A sanmon, also called sangedatsumon, is the most important gate of a Japanese Zen Buddhist temple, and is part of the Zen shichidō garan, the group of buildings that forms the heart of a Zen Buddhist temple. It can be often found in temples of other denominations too. Most sanmon are 2- or 3-bay nijūmon, but the name by itself does not imply any specific architecture.
Main hall is the building within a Japanese Buddhist temple compound (garan) which enshrines the main object of veneration. Because the various denominations deliberately use different terms, this single English term translates several Japanese words, among them butsuden, butsu-dō, kondō, konpon-chūdō, and hondō. Hondō is its exact Japanese equivalent, while the others are more specialized words used by particular sects or for edifices having a particular structure.
Yishan Yining was a Chinese Buddhist monk who traveled to Japan. Before monkhood his family name was Hu.. He was born in 1247 in Linhai, Taizhou, Zhejiang, China. He was a monk of the Linji school during the Yuan Dynasty of China, and subsequently a Rinzai Zen master who rose to prominence in Kamakura Japan. He was one of the chief disseminators of Zen Buddhism among the new militarized nobility of Japan, a calligrapher and a writer. Mastering a variety of literary genres and being a prolific teacher, he is mostly remembered as the pioneer of Japanese Gozan Bungaku literature, that recreated in Japan the literary forms of Song dynasty.
Japanese Buddhist architecture is the architecture of Buddhist temples in Japan, consisting of locally developed variants of architectural styles born in China. After Buddhism arrived the continent via Three Kingdoms of Korea in the 6th century, an effort was initially made to reproduce original buildings as faithfully as possible, but gradually local versions of continental styles were developed both to meet Japanese tastes and to solve problems posed by local weather, which is more rainy and humid than in China. The first Buddhist sects were Nara's six Nanto Rokushū, followed during the Heian period by Kyoto's Shingon and Tendai. Later, during the Kamakura period, in Kamakura were born the Jōdo and the native Japanese sect Nichiren-shū. At roughly the same time Zen Buddhism arrived from China, strongly influencing all other sects in many ways, including architecture. The social composition of Buddhism's followers also changed radically with time. In the beginning it was the elite's religion, but slowly it spread from the noble to warriors, merchants and finally to the population at large. On the technical side, new woodworking tools like the framed pit saw and the plane allowed new architectonic solutions.
Dō. It is very often used in Japanese Buddhism as a suffix in the name of some of the many buildings that can be part of a Japanese temple compound. The prefix can be the name of a deity associated with it or express the building's function within the temple's compound.
Tenzo Kyōkun (典座教訓), usually rendered in English as Instructions for the Cook, is an important essay written by Dōgen, the founder of Zen Buddhism's Sōtō school in Japan.
Zuiryū-ji (瑞龍寺)) is a Buddhist temple in Takaoka, Toyama Prefecture, Japan. The temple belongs to the Sōtō-school of Japanese Zen Buddhism.
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