Enryaku-ji, Buddhist temple in Mount Hiei, Japan
Enryaku-ji is a Buddhist temple on Mount Hiei in Japan, spreading across three main areas: Todo, Saito, and Yokawa. Each section contains halls, pagodas, and shrines nestled among cedar trees and old stone staircases, connected by walking paths that wind through the forested slopes.
Monk Saicho founded the temple in 788 to establish the Tendai school in Japan. Oda Nobunaga ordered the site burned in 1571, leading to a major rebuilding effort completed in 1642.
Monks here continue daily rituals of chanting and meditation, while pilgrims arrive early to light incense and recite sutras before the altars. During morning services, the sound of bells and low chanting drifts through the halls, allowing visitors to witness the rhythms of monastic life that have shaped this mountain for centuries.
Cable cars from Sakamoto town and buses from Kyoto Station bring visitors up the mountain, with each temple section requiring its own entry. The paths connecting the areas can be steep and slippery, so sturdy shoes make walking much easier.
Selected monks practice Kaihogyo here, walking mountain paths daily for 1000 days while combining meditation with extreme physical endurance. This tradition is considered one of the toughest spiritual disciplines in Japanese Buddhism and remains active today.
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