Three Wheels Temple

Three Wheels
Religion
AffiliationShin Buddhism
SectHigashi Hongan-ji
Year consecrated1994
StatusActive
Location
LocationActon, London
CountryEngland
Website
https://threewheels.org.uk/

Three Wheels is a Shin Buddhist temple in London, England, founded in 1994.[1] It is the London branch of Shogyōji (正行寺), a temple in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan, which has affiliations with the larger Higashi Hongan-ji (Ōtani-ha) branch of Shin Buddhism.[2]: 286 

The temple was founded by Kemmyō Taira Sato, a former pupil of D. T. Suzuki,[1]: 10 [2]: 291  supporting both the local Japanese diaspora and non-Japanese attendees. The temple is spread across three buildings, with a main building holding the primary altar and two separate buildings used for events and hosting guests, alongside a Zen garden. The Zen garden was designed by John White, art historian and professor at University College London,[3]: 15–16  and it opened in 1997.[2]: 290 [4]

Three Wheels conducts daily services, meditation sessions, twice-yearly shokai retreats (a term coined from two characters meaning "to flow" and "to open") involving communal meals, dharma talks, and chanting,[2]: 297  and services such as funerals and weddings. The temple also hosts bi-monthly eza gatherings, which feature dharma talks in English.[2]: 289  The term "eza" means "to meet and sit"[2]: 296  and is a distinctive practice within the Shogyōji lineage of temples, compared with wider the Shin Buddhist movement.[2]: 289 

Since 1997, Three Wheels has conducted a yearly Annual Ceremony to Pray for World Peace and Reconciliation between British and Japanese War Veterans.[5][1]: 11 

  1. ^ a b c Matsunaga, Louella (14 July 2021). "Jōdo Shinshū in the UK: Impermanence, Precarity, and Change". Journal of Religion in Japan. 10 (1): 1–27. doi:10.1163/22118349-01002007. S2CID 237745705.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Kolata, Paulina (27 May 2023). "Navigating inclusion: 'home-making' in the UK Shin Buddhist community". Religion, State and Society. 51 (3): 283–299. doi:10.1080/09637494.2023.2212578.
  3. ^ Watson, Sophie; Zanetti, Oliver (2016). "Religion as practices of attachment and materiality: the making of Buddhism in contemporary London" (PDF). Culture and Religion. 17 (3): 257–278. doi:10.1080/14755610.2016.1211544. S2CID 152187733.
  4. ^ "The Zen Garden" (PDF). Three Wheels. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2022-08-11. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
  5. ^ "2013 Foreign Minister's Commendation - Reverend Professor Kemmyo Taira Sato and Mr Keisaku Sano". Embassy of Japan in the UK. Retrieved 11 February 2024.