Fukukaiji — Local services in Kobe

Fukuhara 33 Kannon Pilgrimage #23 Fukuka-ji Temple After #24 Fukugon-ji Temple, I walked to #23 Fukukai-ji Temple in reverse order after some time. The stone monument claimed that the temple was a member of the Fukuhara 33 Kannon Pilgrimage. So, not all the temples in the mountain-side across the highway had given up belonging to the pilgrimage. The main deity of Fukukai-ji Temple, however, is not Avalokitesvara, Kannon in Japanese, but Mahākāla, the god of great darkness or blackness, or Daikokuten in Japanese. As the name suggests, Daikokuten should be all black, but, In Japan, Daikoku is considered to be the god of wealth, and is portrayed with his wide face with wide smile, wearing a flat hat and holding a golden mallet called Uchide no kozuchi, or the "mallet of fortune," and is seen seated on bales of rice, with rats nearby signifying prolificacy. The main deity of Fukukai-ji temple looks black. The statue might be preserving the prototype or the original...

I’ve just attended a zen meditation gathering, and it was a so cool experience for both of my mind and body. There is clean and sacred inside of the temple. The monk preached with ordinary life story, instead of abstract stories, and it was also helping me to think about myself. Finally, we chanted Heart Sutra and the mantra of Mahākāla then, put a thin firewood which is written my wish into a fire pit and prayed the wish is gonna reach to Mahākāla...

兵庫柳原のえべっさん時、順路で最初にお参りするお寺。 京都南禅寺派のお寺さんで、御朱印をいただけるという事を知る博識な人はごく僅かのようだ。 えべっさん時は特別に中の大黒様(おそらく神道寄り)が拝める。 えべっさんという神社イメージのためか、柏手を打つぼんくr…いや、柏手を打つ人は後を絶たないが、ここは禅寺である。 禅寺である(大事なことなので2回言いました) 柏手は必要ない事をここに明記しておく。

ちなみに、年3日だけ御朱印が豪華絢爛仕様にな...