Day 8: Kyoto (Chion-in)

Chion-in (知恩院, Monastery of Gratitude) is the headquarters of the Jōdo-shū (Pure Land Sect) founded by Hōnen (1133–1212).

Chion-in is a Pure Land Buddhism temple consisting of a colossal main gate (Sanmon), a huge temple building and Japan’s largest temple bell (which is what we stumbled into by accident coming from the wrong entrance).

Hōnen proclaimed that sentient beings are reborn in Amida Buddha’s Western Paradise (Pure Land) by reciting the nembutsu, Amida Buddha’s name.