| Place of Peace | |
|---|---|
Hei-Sei-Ji (平清治) | |
 | |
  Location in South Carolina | |
| General information | |
| Type | Jōdo Shinshū (浄土真宗) temple |
| Location | Furman University |
| Town or city | Greenville, SC |
| Country | USA |
| Coordinates | 34°55′41″N82°26′12″W / 34.92816°N 82.43654°W |
| Website | |
| http://app2.furman.edu/web/placeofpeace/ | |
The Place of Peace is a Japanese temple that was dismantled and reconstructed on the campus of Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina. [1]
The temple was donated to Furman University by Kiyohiro Tsuzuki and his wife, Chigusa. [2] [1] The Tsuzuki family has maintained residency in Nagoya, Japan and Greenville, South Carolina for many decades.
This Jōdo Shinshū temple was built in Japan in 1984 by Daibun Co. and known as Hei-Sei-Ji (平清治) and Tsuzuki Hondo (都築 本堂). [3] The temple is 900 square feet. [4] However, the temple was never assigned a Buddhist priest to serve a practicing lay community. If this had been the case, then the temple would not have been removed from Japan. [5] The temple was renamed The Place of Peace at Furman and is a learning space to educated students and public about oneness. [6]
In 2004 the Hei-Sei-Ji temple was dismantled into more than 2,400 pieces [7] and shipped in four containers across the Pacific, through the Panama Canal and arrived in Charleston, South Carolina. [8]
Hanging in the front of the meditation hall (shomen) is a calligraphy scroll of a poem written and brushed by Koichi Tohei. It reads, "信奉宇宙霊感応即現成." David Shaner translated the individual words of the poem as, [9]
"Blessed Universal Spirit at this very moment I feel your presence." [10]
On September 5, 2008, a dedication was presided over by David E. Shaner, assisted by Jim Eubanks, Abbot, Order of Pragmatic Buddhists. [11] Among the guests were David Emory Shi, President of Furman University; Masanobu Yoshii, Acting Consul General of Japan; Masao Nakajima, President, Aichiken Construction; and Hiroshi Sato, Construction Supervisor.[ citation needed ]
Major funding provided by Timothy F. Baiden, Bank of America, James E. and Malinda H. Eubanks, Japan World Exposition 70 Commemorative Fund, J. Michael '82 and Elizabeth K. Harley, The Norris Foundation, Margaret C. Robertson '33, Frank '61 and Susan E. Shaw, George W. Willis '48 [4]
Buddhist cuisine is an Asian cuisine that is followed by monks and many believers from areas historically influenced by Mahayana Buddhism. It is vegetarian or vegan, and it is based on the Dharmic concept of ahimsa (non-violence). Vegetarianism is common in other Dharmic faiths such as Hinduism, Jainism and Sikhism, as well as East Asian religions like Taoism. While monks, nuns and a minority of believers are vegetarian year-round, many believers follow the Buddhist vegetarian diet for celebrations.
Nichiren was a Japanese Buddhist priest and philosopher of the Kamakura period. His teachings form the basis of Nichiren Buddhism, a branch of Mahayana Buddhism.
Nichiren Shōshū is a branch of Nichiren Buddhism based on the traditionalist teachings of the 13th century Japanese Buddhist priest Nichiren (1222–1282), claiming him as its founder through his senior disciple Nikko Shonin (1246–1333), the founder of Head Temple Taiseki-ji, near Mount Fuji. The lay adherents of the sect are called Hokkeko members. The Enichizan Myohoji Temple in Los Angeles, California serves as the temple headquarters within the United States.
Sōtō Zen or the Sōtō school is the largest of the three traditional sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism. It is the Japanese line of the Chinese Cáodòng school, which was founded during the Tang dynasty by Dòngshān Liánjiè. It emphasizes Shikantaza, meditation with no objects, anchors, or content. The meditator strives to be aware of the stream of thoughts, allowing them to arise and pass away without interference.
Jōdo Shinshū, also known as Shin Buddhism or True Pure Land Buddhism, is a school of Pure Land Buddhism founded by the former Tendai Japanese monk Shinran.
Buddhism was first established in Japan in the 6th century CE. Most of the Japanese Buddhists belong to new schools of Buddhism which were established in the Kamakura period (1185－1333). During the Edo (Tokugawa)-period (1603–1868), Buddhism was controlled by the feudal Shogunate. The Meiji-period (1868–1912) saw a strong response against Buddhism, with persecution and a forced separation between Buddhism and Shinto.
Okazaki is a city located in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. As of 1 October 2019, the city had an estimated population of 386,999 in 164,087 households, and a population density of 999 persons per km². The total area of the city was 387.20 km2 (149.50 sq mi).
Furman University is a private university in Greenville, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1826 and named after Baptist pastor Richard Furman, the liberal arts university is the oldest private institution of higher learning in South Carolina. It became a secular university in 1992, while keeping Christo et Doctrinae as its motto. As of Fall 2021, it enrolls approximately 2,300 undergraduate students and 150 graduate students on its 750-acre (304 ha) campus.
Tōdai-ji is a Buddhist temple complex that was once one of the powerful Seven Great Temples, located in the city of Nara, Japan. Though it was originally founded in the year 738 CE, Tōdai-ji was not opened until the year 752 CE. The construction of the temple was an attempt to imitate Chinese temples from the much-admired Tang dynasty. The temple has undergone several reconstructions since then, with the most significant reconstruction taking place in 1709. Its Great Buddha Hall houses the world's largest bronze statue of the Buddha Vairocana, known in Japanese as Daibutsu (大仏). The temple also serves as the Japanese headquarters of the Kegon school of Buddhism. The temple is a listed UNESCO World Heritage Site as one of the "Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara", together with seven other sites including temples, shrines and places in the city of Nara.
Acala or Achala, also known as Acalanātha or Āryācalanātha, is a wrathful deity and dharmapala prominent in Vajrayana Buddhism and East Asian Buddhism.
Eihei-ji (永平寺) is one of two main temples of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism, the largest single religious denomination in Japan. Eihei-ji is located about 15 km (9 mi) east of Fukui in Fukui Prefecture, Japan. In English, its name means "temple of eternal peace".
Sensō-ji, is an ancient Buddhist temple in Asakusa, Tokyo, Japan. It is Tokyo's oldest-established temple, and one of its most significant. It is dedicated to Kannon, the bodhisattva of compassion. Structures in the temple complex include the main hall, a five-story pagoda and large gates. It is the most widely visited religious site in the world with over 30 million visitors annually.
The Rinzai school, named after Linji Yixuan is one of three sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism, along with Sōtō and Ōbaku. The Chinese Linji school of Chan Buddhism was first transmitted to Japan by Myōan Eisai. Contemporary Japanese Rinzai is derived entirely from the Ōtōkan lineage transmitted through Hakuin Ekaku (1686–1769), who is a major figure in the revival of the Rinzai tradition.
The Bodhisattva vow is a vow taken by some Mahāyāna Buddhists to achieve full buddhahood for the sake of all sentient beings. One who has taken the vow is nominally known as a bodhisattva. This can be done by venerating all Buddhas and by cultivating supreme moral and spiritual perfection, to be placed in the service of others. In particular, bodhisattvas promise to practice the six perfections of giving, moral discipline, patience, effort, concentration and wisdom in order to fulfill their bodhicitta aim of attaining buddhahood for the sake of all beings.
Japanese dragons are diverse legendary creatures in Japanese mythology and folklore. Japanese dragon myths amalgamate native legends with imported stories about dragons from China, Korea and the Indian subcontinent. The style and appearance of the dragon was heavily influenced by the Chinese dragon, especially the three-clawed long (龍) dragons which were introduced in Japan from China in ancient times. Like these other East Asian dragons, most Japanese ones are water deities or kami associated with rainfall and bodies of water, and are typically depicted as large, wingless, serpentine creatures with clawed feet.
Buddhist temples or monasteries are 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 monastery is tera (寺), and the same kanji also has the pronunciation ji, so temple names frequently end in -dera or -ji. Another ending, -in (院), is normally used to refer to minor temples. Examples of temple names that have these suffixes are Kiyomizu-dera, Enryaku-ji and Kōtoku-in.
Hōryū-ji is a Buddhist temple that was once one of the powerful Seven Great Temples, in Ikaruga, Nara Prefecture, Japan. Its full name is Hōryū Gakumonji (法隆学問寺), or Learning Temple of the Flourishing Law, the complex serving as both a seminary and monastery.
The Zen tradition is maintained and transferred by a high degree of institutionalisation, despite the emphasis on individual experience and the iconoclastic picture of Zen.
Mugaku Sogen (無学祖元), also known as Bukko Kokushi was a prominent Zen Buddhist monk of the 13th century in Japan, an emigre from Song dynasty China. He was adviser to Japan's most powerful ruler of the day, the regent of the shōgun (Shikken) Hōjō Tokimune. He founded the Zen temple Engaku-ji in Kamakura, one of Japan's five most important Zen temples.