A temple alive with real Zen monastic practice Eiheiji, "The Temple of Eternal Peace", is one of the two head temples of  Soto Zen. It is located deep in the mountains, near the northwest coast  of  Japan, not far from Fukui City. This temple was founded by Zen  Master Dōgen in 1244. He was offered land and other help for this by  Yoshishige Hatano, a samurai who was one of his most devoted lay  followers. Dōgen thus founded Eiheiji, where he devoted himself to  training his followers in the perfection of Zen practice in every action of  daily life. Dōgen Zenji's authentic Zen has been scrupulously observed  and passed down by his successors. Still today, at Eiheiji over one  hundred monks devote themselves wholeheartedly to his practice of  shikantaza （"single-minded sitting"）. In order to protect our traditional monastic practice and environment, we ask all visitors to follow our rules.