Antai-ji Temple

Deep in the mountains of northern Hyogo Prefecture, far from the neon lights of Kyoto or Tokyo, lies Antai-ji. This is not a temple for casual sightseeing or 'spiritual tourism.' It is a Sōtō Zen training monastery where the…

The Hondo, or Main Hall, is the center of spiritual life at Antai-ji. Unlike the ornate halls of urban temples, this building is simple and functional. …

To understand Antai-ji, one must look toward the 'Hatake,' or the vegetable farm. Agriculture is not a chore here; it is 'Samu,' or meditative labor. …

The Tenzo-ryo, or temple kitchen, is where the labor of the fields is transformed into the fuel for practice. In Zen, the position of 'Tenzo' (head cook) is one of the most respected, as it requires total mindfulness and devotion…

Winter at Antai-ji brings the 'Yuki-ango,' or snow retreat, a period of intense training and extreme physical challenge. From late December through March, the temple is often buried in several meters of snow, cutting off all road…

The living quarters at Antai-ji are as austere as the rest of the complex. Practitioners live in small, communal rooms with minimal personal belongings. …

The daily schedule at Antai-ji is a clockwork of labor. Beyond the farm and kitchen, there are constant maintenance tasks: repairing the wood-shingled roofs, cleaning the long wooden corridors, and maintaining the mountain paths. …

As we prepare to leave the quiet heights of Antai-ji, we reflect on what it means to live with 'nothing.' The monks here have stripped away the noise of modern life to find what remains—the true self. We have seen how Zen is not…