— First Part — An Inclusive Place That Continues to Embrace Diversity
Transcending a religious framework, Kiyomizu-dera Temple （清水寺） presents to the world a universal form of prayer
— First Part —
The “Inspired by Kyoto” project explores the meaning of Kyoto for the future. Each time we are exposed to the thoughts of practitioners in various fields who are creating Kyoto’s future without being bound by precedent, and we transmit them to the world in the form of narratives.
For this issue, we had the pleasure of interviewing Reverend Eigen Onishi （大西英玄師） of Kiyomizu-dera, one of the temples that characterize Kyoto, asking him about the “FEEL KIYOMIZUDERA” project, which embodies the temple’s unique worldview, together with the background concept of the project. Rev. Onishi’s talk was highlighted by discussions on both originality and universality. The interview is presented in two parts.
When we talk about Kyoto, we can hardly avoid topics concerning temples and shrines, which have witnessed the city’s 1,200-year history. On stepping into their precincts, you will surely notice a change in atmosphere and feel an aura of solemnity permeating the entire setting. In addition to serving communities as religious facilities, temples and shrines are visited by many tourists who come to the ancient capital for sightseeing.
This article introduces the “FEEL KIYOMIZUDERA” project, which gives powerful impressions that overturn the conventional image of temples and shrines. I hope that readers will join a quest for the future of Kyoto together with Reverend Eigen Onishi, a leading player in the project and a future leader of Kiyomizu-dera Temple.
Pursuit of a Form of Buddhism that Meets Demands of Contemporary Society
The founding of Otowa-san Kiyomizu-dera Temple （音羽山清水寺） dates back to 778. It was established as a branch of Kofuku-ji Temple （興福寺） in Nara Prefecture, the head temple of the Hosso sect of Buddhism （法相宗）, and remained in that state throughout the medieval and early modern periods. Nowadays, however, the temple’s situation has changed.
In the early 20th century, Kiyomizu-dera Temple was at the verge of being shut down, which is difficult to imagine since we now see the temple crowded with so many visitors. Back then, some supporters of the temple, who were concerned about the temple’s situation, asked Reverend Ryokei Onishi （大西良慶和上） to revive it. In 1965, he restored the temple by founding the Kita-Hosso sect （北法相宗） with Kiyomizu-dera as its head temple. Since then, Kiyomizu-dera has been supported by a great many devoted worshippers and is regarded as a temple that characterizes Kyoto.
Feel the Breath of History and the Temple’s Unchanging Essence
“Roughly speaking, Kiyomizu-dera has two roles. The first one concerns the role of the temple as a historical cultural property, which I will now discuss.”
My first question was about Rev. Onishi’s view of Kiyomizu-dera. Since we take the temple’s presence for granted, I wanted to deepen my understanding of the temple by asking this question.
“To understand the temple’s role as a historical cultural property, it might be helpful to think of the role of preserving tangible properties, such as cultural properties owned by the temple and its halls and other structures. This, however, is only part of the temple’s first role. At annual ceremonies, specific procedures have been observed by priests. Among these rituals, some have been observed for centuries by successive generations of chief priests. For example, in the beginning of every year, we hold the Shushoue ceremony （修正会）, in which we beat on the wall. This custom is called kyougaku （驚覚） By making a loud noise, we surprise Buddha so that he will listen to our prayers. If you visit the hall where the ceremony is held, you will surely notice that the wall has a thinner part around the height of a man. Needless to say, the thinner part has been hit repeatedly throughout the temple’s long history. Kiyomizu-dera owns tangible and intangible cultural assets, and passing both such assets to future generations is one of its important roles.”
Circulating Goodwill — Returning Goodwill We Receive from Society
“The second role concerns the temple’s tasks as a living religious facility. Since Kiyomizu-dera has no parishioners, the temple is maintained by admission fees and monetary offerings. We consider this support to be “goodwill” entrusted to the temple by society, which it should return to society. Being aware of this responsibility, we return the “goodwill” we have received from society at the earliest possible occasion by funding various programs, including those of healthcare, welfare, art and performing arts, traditional cultures, social activities, and the peace movement. Goodwill circulation can be likened to blood circulation in our body. If our blood circulation declines, we fall into illness. To ensure the smooth circulation of goodwill, the temple plays the role of a temporary storehouse of goodwill.”
I thought that the phrase “goodwill circulation” contained various meanings that I did not know well. This was probably because I had never pondered how money is used after people drop it into an offertory box. Rev. Onishi proceeded to explain a type of goodwill circulation in which Kiyomizu-dera has a particular advantage.
The Temple’s High Profile Should Be Used for Society
“Fortunately, Kiyomizu-dera is very popular, and I am thankful for this. This, however, is not because the temple’s priests are great. Of course, the temple has maintained its essential heritage since its founding, but its most important tradition is that the temple has worked as a broad gateway to religious life not for specific individuals but for the general public. At the temple, this torch of Buddhism has been handed down generation after generation. To compare Buddhism to a book, a temple is like its cover, or if it is compared to a website, a temple functions as its homepage. In this context, the number of page views matters. However, a huge amount of traffic does not necessarily imply the large scale of a temple. Large temples in Kyoto, such as Higashi Hongan-ji Temple （東本願寺）, Nishi-Hongwan-ji Temple （西本願寺）, and Chion-in Temple （知恩院）, have many branch temples across Japan. Since these temples fulfill the role of head temples of their respective sects, their role is different from that of Kiyomizu-dera, which has no branch temples. Since Kiyomizu-dera is given a high profile by society, it is our responsibility to use its profile in order to benefit society. There are many people engaged in valuable activities. I believe that by providing them with a stage to demonstrate their activities or deliver their messages, we can help them promote their activities among many more people, including those who have not previously been interested. If their activities can gain trust and support from more people by using Kiyomizu-dera as a stage for their expressions, it would be meaningful for the temple to cooperate with them.”
Unconventional Programs Derived from Diversity
On learning that various programs held at Kiyomizu-dera were designed to promote the goodwill circulation, I could understand why the temple offered stages for these programs. Yet, I still wondered why these programs were so unique. To find out, I continued to ask questions.
“A concept that I myself value particularly is diversity. There is a Buddhist saying ‘Hitori ichi sekai (一人一世界：One person has one world).’ Imagine that several people have gathered at a place to hear the same sermon. Even though they share the same experience, the impressions they gain can be different. If they have gathered at this temple to worship Buddha, they all have different motivations for worshipping and all have different images of the temple. They also gain different feelings at the temple. Of course, I hope that they feel the presence of Buddha even just a little here, but rather than imposing my own view, I respect different views, or in other words, the presence of diversity.”
Hearing this, I felt that I was beginning to understand. Even though I feel that many programs held at Kiyomizu-dera are interesting and unique, it is difficult to explain these feelings precisely. However, I can definitely say that the programs held there comprise various elements and this combination is supported by the acceptance of diversity without any bias.
Establishing a Borderless Connection between the Real and Virtual Worlds to Liberate Contemporary People
“Many people think that we use Instagram to publicize the temple, but that is not true. At temples and shrines, you may often see notices such as ‘No shoes allowed here’ and ‘No photographs.’ I believe that most visitors wishing to take photographs embrace favorable images of the objects they want to shoot. So, I don’t want to treat them coldly, but at the same time it is true that we don’t like to allow visitors to take photographs of Buddha images, since they are objects of worship rather than works of fine arts. As a solution, we began to use Instagram. On Instagram, we post pictures that many visitors are likely to wish to take. I believe that posting such pictures in advance can free visitors from worrying about which pictures to take. In addition to the images of Buddha, we also post photographs of our daily service on Instagram even though it is impossible to post all images desired by visitors. In busy daily life, in addition to taking photos, I understand that many people are bothered by messages on smartphones throughout the day. In this context, I hope that they will have time, even if for just a short period, to be free from digital devices. You may call this ‘digital detoxification.’ While worshipping at the temple, I hope they can feel the temple’s atmosphere fully, using their five senses.”
I now understand that at the temple, wishes of both visitors and the temple are respected. I also learned that embracing diversity means allowing people who have different wishes to share the same space without denying any wish. Although this sounds ideal, it is never easy to fulfil this principle. However, Kiyomizu-dera is one of few places where people of diversely different wishes share the same space.
(Continued in Part 2)
In Part 2, Rev. Onishi will discuss the “FEEL KIYOMIZUDERA” project and inspirations that Kyoto can offer.
Text by Yasuhito Sasaki
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Onishi Eigen
Sub steward of Kiyomizu-dera Temple. Born in Kiyomizu, Kyoto, in 1978. He entered the Buddhist priesthood in 1989. After graduating from Kansai University in 2000, he studied in the United States and returned to Kiyomizu-dera Temple to resume his service. Currently, he serves as the head priest of Jojuin Sub-Temple（成就院）.
Kiyomizudera temple
Kiyomizu-dera Temple is a temple of the Kita-Hosso sect（北法相宗）. After it was opened, it adopted the doctrine of the Hosso sect, one of the six sects of Nara Buddhism. In early modern times, Kiyomizu-dera was a branch temple of Kofuku-ji Temple (興福寺：in Nara Prefecture), the main temple of the Hosso sect.
http://www.kiyomizudera.or.jp/en/
FEEL KIYOMIZUDERA
The FEEL KIYOMIZUDERA project presents a new perspective and a fresh interpretation of prayer through a variety of experimental expressions beyond convention.
