Location & Schedule

September - December

The program begins with a two-day orientation on program content and Japanese culture following arrival in Japan.  Classes begin shortly thereafter and continue for nine weeks, followed by three weeks of independent research and travel.  The program ends with research presentations in Kyoto.

Typical Daily Schedule

5:30 AM	Meditation
6:45 AM	Breakfast*
8:00 AM	Class Period
12:00 PM	Lunch*
1:00 PM	Language Class
5:00 PM	Meditation
6:00 PM	Dinner*
7:00 PM	Individual Study

*Meals provided in temples are strictly vegetarian. However, students are typically provided with stipends to select food of their choice in local restaurants and the Ryukoku University cafeteria.

Kyoto

Kyoto is a twelve-hundred year old city with charm, mystery, and a feeling of timelessness. The city sits in a valley, which is surrounded by three mountains and intersected by two rivers. It was the spiritual and political capital of Japan during the Heian Period (794-1185 CE), a time of flowering in Court and Buddhist aesthetics. Kyoto remains the center of traditional culture in Japan.

Housing

Participants spend the majority of their time in Japan living in actual Buddhist monasteries and temples. In this setting, students gain firsthand experience through both observation and participation in the major Japanese Buddhist traditions of Zen, Shingon, and True Pure Land (Shin), including meditation, ritual practice, and academic study. Although there is some variation in accommodations from year to year, students spend the majority of their time living in temple hostels, especially Koshoji, headquarters temple of a sub-sect of True Pure Land Buddhism in Kyoto.  Participants are also afforded the opportunity to visit and train in such other temples as: Hokyoji, Eiheiji and Antaiji for Soto Zen; Tenryuji and Myoshinji in Kyoto for Rinzai Zen; and Muryoko-in on Mount Koya for Shingon.  The program also assists students interested in making a traditional pilgrimage on the island of Shikoku.

Please note that because program participants stay in temples and temple hostels, their lifestyle will differ considerably from what they might be used to in the United States. Part of the immersion process in this program is engaging in a lifestyle similar to that of a Japanese religious pilgrim. For example, while male and female participants will always have separate living quarters, they will often sleep together in larger groups. Thick, padded floor bedding spread out on woven mats plus Japanese bathing and restroom facilities are other differences. Please contact Antioch Education Abroad with any questions you might have on program accommodations.

While residing in temples and monasteries, it will be necessary for students to follow the five basic Buddhist precepts:

1. To abstain from taking life
2. To abstain from theft
3. To abstain from sexual misconduct
4. To abstain from lying
5. To abstain from intoxicants

Some may feel these requirements to be too rigorous. Experience has shown, however, that an individual consistently deviating from this code lacks the clarity of mind necessary for full participation in this intensive program. The culture and environment of the temples support the maintenance of these precepts.