#75 （14th Temple） Jōraku-ji
常楽寺

The fourteenth temple is Jōraku-ji (常楽寺), the only temple on the whole pilgrimage to enshrine Miroku Bosatsu, the Buddha of the future.

It lies just about 0.8 km from the fifteenth temple — barely a stroll between the two.

This temple has no gate; instead, a set of stone pillars and a flight of stairs mark the entrance.

Climbing up without passing through a gate gives the approach an open, slightly unusual feel from the very start.

This is the main hall, where Miroku Bosatsu is enshrined — the only such image among all eighty-eight temples. Tradition holds that this future Buddha will one day appear to bring enlightenment to the world.

Standing before so rare an image, I offered incense and recited the sutra with particular care.

This is the Daishi-dō. Here I tried to set aside the things that had gone wrong, the anger and the sadness and all the rest of it, and simply wished for peace in the world and a happier future.

There is something about these halls that makes letting go a little easier.

Various stone statues of the Buddha stand lined up across the precincts, set among the temple’s remarkable rock terraces.

The way the buildings and the natural rock seem to grow into one another gives Jōraku-ji a character unlike anywhere else on the route.

The characters of a prayer to Kōbō Daishi, carved into the wood, are strikingly beautiful, and I stopped to admire the brushwork before moving on.

Nearby stands the great Araragi Daishi, an enormous old yew before which people come to pray for healing.

NFT – Crypto Ohenro #75 Goshuin of Jōraku-ji（常楽寺） –

This is the goshuin of the fourteenth temple, Jōraku-ji, a keepsake of its unusual rock-terrace grounds.

Thirteen temples still remained on my journey, the days settling into a familiar shape.

The distance to the next temple was about 2.3 km, barely a stroll between the two.