• About Us
• History of the KTDC
• History of Betsuin
• Information about Monshin and Shumon
• Gallery

History of Jiunzan Tendai-ji "Betsuin"

‘Mountain Clouds’ above Jiunzan Tendai-ji

Jiunzan Tendai-ji is translated as ‘Compassionate Mountain Cloud Tendai Temple.’ The name designates both the resident sangha of the Karuna Tendai Dharma Center and the temple of the Tendai Buddhist Institute. It was given to us by the Ven. Shoshin Ichishima in 1997 and reflected his view of the local environment. The Karuna Tendai Dharma Center is located in an elevated notch of the Berkshire Mountains, where clouds often descend to the ridgeline of the surrounding hills. As such, the name chosen by Ichishima-sensei is as descriptive as it is evocative.

Juhachido performed by Seigaku, Seishin and Ryushin in the old Horse Barn Hondo

During the first nine years of our existence, we conducted services in our main house and in one of our barns. During the summer of 2004, we dismantled this barn and incorporated many parts of it into our new hondo (temple), which was dedicated in June of 2005. An essential all-purpose facility, designed to accommodate meeting, training, sleeping, dining, administration and a range of other functions, will begin construction sometime in the near future.