The abbess of Antaiji explains how you become part of the Zen monastery

Antaiji belongs to the Sōtō Zen school. It was founded in 1921 by Oka Sotan as monastery for scholars to study the Shobogenzo. At that time it was located in northern Kyoto, and many leading scholars studied there. During the second worldwar though, Antaiji was vacated until in 1949 Sawaki Kōdō and Uchiyama Kōshō, teacher and disciple on the buddha way, moved into Antaiji and made it a place for the pure and simple practice of sitting Zazen. During the late sixties, the name of this small temple became known for its practice which consisted of Zazen and formal begging, not only in Japan, but also abroad, and many people gathered there. But the increase of visitors and the many new houses being build around the temple created much noise that made it difficult for the practice to be continued. Therefore the following abbot, Watanabe Kōhō, decided to move Antaiji to its present location in northern Hyogo. Together with the quietude of the mountains, he was looking for a new life style that would bring Zen back to its Chinese roots of self sufficiency. Presently, Antaiji is located near a national park on the coast of the Japanese Sea, and posseses about 50 hectares of land in the mountains. The former abbot Miyaura Shinyu protected this quiet and selfsufficient life of Zazen while putting the ideal of self sufficiency into actual practice, until his sudden death in the snow in February of 2002. His disciple, the German monk Muhō, continued as the ninth abbot from 2002 until 2020. In 2020, Eko Nakamura took over as the 10th abbot of Antaiji Temple. While working as a midwife she became interested in natural birth, breast feeding, natural eating, natural farming and came to realize that humans are only able to live through the power of nature. Eko came to think that human lifelihood is originally based upon an agricultural livestyle through growing rice and vegetables, and so she quite her job at the hospital and started to search for an alternative way of living. Consequently, she was attracted by the phrase “a self-sufficient Zen temple with the support of parishioners” and so went to Antaiji to find the answer on: “How should I live?” She spent her 40ties practicing Zen at Antaiji, and now, in her 50ties, Eko has entered a new phase of practice as the head of Antaiji temple. Zazen and work at the monastery are not simply practiced as one part of life, rather all 24 hours of your daily life itself are to be the manifestation of Zen. Antaiji has no other special practices, teachings, meditation techniques, insights or spiritual guidance to offer you. Nor is it a place to get in touch with the mystery of the East, have occult experiences or just have a taste of Japanese culture. Antaiji is a place where you can create your own life as bodhisattva practice. Although you are expected to stay there long term (three years or more), living harmoniously with the other practioners in the monastery, the responsibility for your practice still lies solely with yourself. There is no one to live your life for you. Nobody will wipe your ass for you. What is most important is not to use the buddha way for your own purposes, but rather to give up your own ideas and throw yourself completely into the practice of the way. For this, you should be clear about the basis of your practice and the motive that brings you to the monastery. If you expect anything other from your stay than what life at this precise moment has to offer you, you will invariably be disappointed. Make sure you know why you want to come to Antaiji – do not fool yourself or others. Antaiji's YT channel ‪@antai_ji‬ Antaiji website: https://antaiji.org #zenattitude #zazen #meditation