Morning Prayers at Hieizan Enryaku-ji, Head Temple of Tendai Buddhism in Japan

In February 2020, I made my third trip to Hieizan Enryaku-ji, a Buddhist temple high on the slopes of Mt. Hiei (Hieizan) in Ōtsu, Shiga Prefecture, Japan.
Founded by the Japanese monk Saichō in 788 to serve as the head temple of Tendai Buddhism in Japan, Hieizan Enryakuji sits high in the mountains overlooking Lake Biwa, not far from Kyoto. It remains the head temple of the Tendai sect, and a functioning Buddhist temple and monastery, to this day. In recognition of its status as one of Japan's most important Buddhist sites, the temple was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site (as part of the larger UNESCO Site known as "Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto").
I shot this video on the morning of February 23, 2020, when an unexpected snowfall coincided with the morning chants broadcast over the temple's speaker system. The audio is the original audio shot at the time I recorded the video; I've also added some captions/subtitles to share a little more about the temple's history.
Hieizan (848m) was also Summit #14 on 2017-2018 #100Summits quest that formed the basis of my 2020 nonfiction book CLIMB: Leaving Safe & Finding Strength on 100 Summits in Japan (link in my channel header).

[@mrocean8139]

Gorgeous

[@girlfrmoz]

That was so informative. Seems every culture has villains who do harm! I could get mesmerised by the chatting! Beautiful

[@SpannInJapan]

Thank you! And yes, it's so sad that people can't seem to get past harming one another - but at least there are also those of us who try to spread joy.