In the dharma lineage recognized by Sogenji monastery in Okayama, Japan, the 27th ancestor after Bodhidharma is Nampo Jomyo Zenji, who lived from 1235 – 1309.

According to Andy Ferguson, author of the book, Zen’s Chinese Heritage, Jingci Temple in Hangzhou is where Nampo Jomyo learned much about Zen and tea culture before taking his knowledge back to Daitokuji Temple in Kyoto. This is where the famous Japanese tea master Sen Rikkyu established a tea dojo.

Today, Jingci Temple is visited my many Chinese people who pay tribute to the ancestors by lighting incense sticks, bowing to the north, south, east and west, then placing their incense in a very larger burner in front of the temple.

What I liked best here was the billboard erected recently by a Buddhist organization which says, “A harmonious world begins in the mind”.

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