As a cat lover, I understood the psychological and spiritual benefits of caring for them, but that is not specific to Buddhism, much less to Sōtō Zen. I was curious to learn more about what this temple was teaching and why. I learned that the 12/13th-century monk Keizan, who had been born in Echizen and developed this branch of Sōtō Zen, was the first to formally recognize the spiritual equality of women and welcome them into the spiritual practice. 

The Japanese men of that period mostly excluded women from their study and practice of Buddhism. There were convents, but they were apparently not particularly welcomed. However, Keizan’s grandmother, Myōchi 妙智 (ca. 1205? – 1280), who was thought to have raised him, was a devoted Buddhist and was said to have been a very strong woman who introduced him to spiritual practice and awakened his love for Buddha. 

Myōchi studied under the Buddhist master Myōzen, who was also the teacher of Dyōgen, the first great founder of the Sōtō Zen school. Apparently, so great was Myōchi’s devotion that Dyōgen translated Chinese Buddhist teachings into Japanese for her and entrusted her with Myōzen’s ashes when he died, writing of her, “Her dedication to Master Myozen is firm and deep.” It seems that Myōchi’s spiritual development made a lasting impression on Dyōgen. Later, when he founded his own temple, he made a point of welcoming women and people from all walks of life to meditate, pray, and study. 

In “Bendowa” [“Negotiating the Way, An introduction to Zen practice”], which  Dyōgen composed on August 15, 1231, early in his career, he wrote, “male and female, the noble and the lowly — everyone can understand and embody the Buddha’s teaching.” Nine years later in his sermon “Raihai tokuzui” [“Rendering obeisance and thereby gaining the marrow of teaching”], he elaborated, “What is so precious about being born a male? Space is space; four elements are four elements; five skandhas are five skandhas; the distinction between men and women is also thus. Both genders attain awakening. What you should pay respect is to the person who attains awakening; whether this person is male or female is beside the point.”

Myōchi’s daughter, Ekan Daishi (1232-1316), Keizan’s mother, was ordained as a Zen nun, eventually becoming the abbess of Jōju-ji, a Sōtō convent. It is said that she devoted herself to Kannon Bosatsu, the bodhisattva of compassion, who is often depicted in female form. Ekan undoubtedly must have influenced her son’s spiritual development and respect for women as well. 

The statue of Kannon Bosatsu in front of Gotanjoji temple next to the great Buddha sculpture suggests the continuing importance of compassion in Sōtō Zen. I believe that this is meaningful because Keizan is known for having opened the study and practice of Zen to female practitioners and laypeople even more than his teacher, Dyōgen, had. Keizan built on the idea that anyone could and everyone would attain enlightenment by teaching that any life experience could be used to that end; it wasn’t necessary to become a monk. To this end, he emphasized that the essence of spiritual practice is to awaken to the light within by witnessing the light in others and practicing compassion in whatever circumstance or relationship one finds oneself in. 

This resonates with me so much because this is the core teaching of my own spiritual practice, A Course in Miracles:

“When you meet anyone, remember it is a holy encounter. As you see him, you will see yourself. As you treat him, you will treat yourself. As you think of him, you will think of yourself.” (T-8.III.4:1-3)

“The light in one awakens it in all. And when you see it in your brother, you are remembering for everyone.” (T-21.I.10:6-7)

Keizan not only welcomed women lay devotees at his temple but also established convents and personally trained female students. In his text, Denkoroku (伝光録, Record of the Transmission of the Light), Keizan made a point of recognizing prior influential female devotees in the history of Zen. All of this is apparently perceived to be a feminizing of Zen practice because Keizan became known as the “Mother of Sōtō Zen” while Dyōgen is referred to as the “Father.” 

So Kōshū Itabashi, the founder of Gotanjoji, was truly practicing what the past sages taught. When faced with the unexpected arrival of four kittens, he flexibly accepted them with compassion rather than reacting with consternation and rejecting their care for being outside his mission. He realized that Buddha’s teaching that all living beings possess Buddha nature and Keizan’s practice of welcoming everyone and seeing the light in each could be joyfully extended to caring for cats and might even help to bring more people into contact with Buddhism.

Because of his compassion, many people have indeed come to the temple who would otherwise never visit. And in one way or another, explicitly or implicitly, many are thereby touched and moved by its spiritual mission. They may not be interested in Buddhism or spirituality, per se, but through their interactions with the cats, they can share an experience of peace. And maybe that is the purest teaching of all. Do the cats know they are participants in this teaching? Surely, one needn’t and perhaps shouldn’t be self-conscious in order to share a peaceful mind. To share peace is simply to be. Isn’t that the point? 

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You can learn more about the temple, its many cats, and some of their visitors through this lovely episode of NHK World Japan’s “Document 72 Hours: A Cat Temple: Soothing the Mind and Soul”