Friday: Honen-in, my favorite temple so far

After the Silver Temple at Ginkaku-ji we walked along the Philosopher's Walk, a quaint walk along a winding canal - lined with cherry trees.  Almost all of them were budding but not yet blooming.  But happily we found one glaring exception.

Along the walk we found a row of Jizos - we weren't clear who put them there or how long they'd been standing guard.  One nice thing about these Jizo statues is just how worn down many of them are.  They become like modern art loose representations of Jizo bodhisattva.  

Looking down a side street you see another type of Kyoto street, of which there are many - not quaint or winding, but a clean and tidy working street.  

After a while we took a left and climbed the hill to Honen-in.  I'm not sure what it was that made me fall for this little temple, but fall I did.  Maybe it was the size - the main campus is quite small, with about 5 buildings on I'd say an acre and a half.  There was no entrance fee - you just walked in - and hardly any visitors. Maybe it was the cute little art gallery with pottery displayed and sold by the artist herself.  Or the head monk who was giving an outdoor lecture to a few Japanese laypeople - on a scroll depicting heaven and hell and various realms in between.  Or the fact that it looked a lot like a functioning place of practice.  In the end I guess it was the kaihan that sealed it for me. 

Here's the main gate:

And the two raised sand gardens just after you enter.  The main path walks you right between the two of them:

And the friendly monk giving his lecture, along with the poster advertising the lecture:

All by myself in the corner of the grounds I found this Jizo shrine.  I love how fine the statue is, and how funky and weatherbeaten the alter:

In the same corner i found some Buddha feet.  For centuries the Buddha's image wasn't used at all - the representation used was of his footprints, in this case complete with marks of the Buddha.  

Wes tells me that a tied up rock is a typical way to indicate no entry in Japan.  Elegant!

And finally, also tucked away, the kaihan - with a couple of nails sticking out of it, I guess for the striker, which was absent.  Now that's a han that's seen some practice.