Goshuin(Commemorative Red-Ink Stamp)
Goshuin reception desk
Hōin (lit. “Stamp of Treasure”) is presented to a recipient as proof of having completed Buddhist sutra (sacred scriptures) copying and then submitting it to the temple. In the case where the stamp is used to signify the temple where one has worshipped, the stamp is called a Goshuin (lit. “Stamp of Red”) because the color of the stamp imprint is red. You may receive the “Goshuin” at the Goshuin reception desk after worshiping at the temple’s main hall.
- a. Hand your Goshuin notebook to the staff person at the Goshuin reception desk and select your preference of Goshuin.
- b. After you receive your Goshuin stamp, please give the staff person your Goshuin contribution (300 yen/a stamp). Please treasure the Goshuin stamps as a memory of your visit to Chion-in temple.
Variety of Goshuin available from Chion-in Temple
-
法然上人 Hōnen Shōnin, the founder of the Jōdo Shū (Pure Land Sect) of Buddhism
Hōnen Shōnin built a hermitage near the Mieidō Hall from where he shared the teachings with his many followers. In the Mieidō Hall, a statue of Hōnen Shōnin is enshrined as the principle image of respect.
-
御詠歌 Goeika, Pilgrim’s Buddhist Hymn to Praise the Buddhas and Eminent Buddhist Monks
「草も木も枯れたる 野辺にただひとり 松のみ残る弥陀の本願」
「Kusa mo Kimo Kare taru, Nobe ni tada hitori, Matsu nomi Nokoru Mida no Hongan」Translation：As the pine tree does not lose its green color even as other plants may wither away, only the Amida Buddha’s teachings never disappear.
-
勢至菩薩 Mahāsthāmaprāpta, Bodhisattva of Wisdom (Seishi Bosatsu)
The grounds of the Seishidō Hall in Ōtani is the site of the meditation hermitage where Hōnen Shōnin spent his final years and continued to share the Nembutsu teachings (emphasizing the recitation of the name of Amida Buddha, “Namu Amida Butsu.”)