Book Review: Eat Sleep Sit: My Year at Japan’s Most Rigorous Zen Temple

By Kaoru Nonomura – Translated by Juliet Winters Carpenter.

For anyone who has ever considered becoming a Zen monk this account is a serious wake up call to the rigours that novitiates at Eiheiji Temple in Fukui Prefecture, one of two main temples of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism, have to endure.

Founded by Dōgen in 1244 its claim that Dōgen was in residence at Eiheiji tends to outshine its rival Sōjiji, the other main Sōtō school of Zen with which it tends to compete, which is located in Tsurumi near Tōkyō, though in spite of the ‘rivalry’ those undergoing zuise training to complete their

Book Review: Japanese Stone Gardens: Origins, Meaning, Form

Written by Stephen Mansfield with a foreword by Donald Richie!

With a foreword by the formidable Donald Ritchie, in itself a recommendation, the Japanese Stone Gardens is divided into two parts. The first covers the pivotal points during the development of the Japanese dry landscape garden (kare-sansui), often referred to these days as a Zen garden. It explains how this developed from the pre-animistic use of stones as markers of space to their use as connections to the natural world and the landscape, their use as mystical vectors with which to communicate with the Gods, the influence of Korea and China, their eventual

Lecture: Zen – Its Practice and Philosophy for Everyday Life

26 April 2012, 6:45pm

The Oriental Club, Stratford House, 11 Stratford Place, London W1C 1ES

In this talk, the Reverend Sokun Tsushimoto, a Zen master of the Rinzai School and qualified medical doctor, will provide insight into the essence of Zen, its traditional practices and discipline. He will also discuss his role as both clinician and priest in the context of birth, aging, sickness and death.

Zen is one of the main schools of Buddhism and originally came to Japan from China in the 13th century. Over time, a

Daruma Doll: Keep An Eye On Your Dreams In 2012

“Nana Korobi Yaoki “ – “Fall down seven times, get up eight.”

Do you have a special goal that you want to achieve in 2012? To pass a tough exam? To find a new love? Maybe achieve a certain sales or profit target?  Or simply to stay fit and healthy?

A popular New Year’s tradition in Japan is to harness the goal-achieving power of their centuries-old iconic Daruma doll. Simply choose “the colour” of your