Zazen Stone at Taicho-ji Temple

The stone a child Taicho trained and meditated on

By Takako Sakamoto

Community writer

This is Taicho's 'Zazen Stone', on which he sat and trained himself as a child

Sign explaining the history of Taicho's 'Zazen Stone'

This is a sacred area and entry is not permitted

This stone surface is covered with green moss

Taicho-ji Temple is in the woods full of tall trees

It's said that this tall cedar tree has been here since the time when Taicho used to meditate on this stone in the 7th century

For some reason there is a small statue of Fudo Myo-O inside the sanctuary

I wonder if the child Taicho wasn't afraid of being alone in this silent woods when meditating?

Taicho Daishi, the famous Shugendo monk of the Nara Period, was born here in 682. As a child he played with clay and created many Buddha statues. People called him a child prodigy, and he used to practice Zazen on this stone (Zazen Stone) all day long. During the eighty-six years of his life, he traveled to more than 20 prefectures, visited five-hundred places all over Japan, preached to people, built temples, created statues, climbed and trained in the mountains, worked on flood control in villages, built roads, and much more. His whole life was dedicated to the people and to Buddha, which earned him the reverential nickname, 'Etsu-no Daitoku (Man of Great Virtue in Echizen)'. Now, his 'Zazen Stone' is preserved here inside Taicho-ji Temple in Fukui, together with a cedar tree beside it that has been here since Taicho's childhood.