This temple has only been called Sanzen-in since the Meiji era. Are you surprised? Sanzen-in was originally a small room called Enyū-bō built in the year 860.
Enyū-bō moved many times to places such as Sakamoto at the base of Hiei-zan and Murasakino (now known as Funaokayama) inside of Kyoto.
Due to its frequent moves, Enyū-bō also went through many names such as “Nashimoto-bō,” “Entoku-in,” “Kaji-i,” and “Kajin Monseki.” This same temple would eventually come to be known as Sanzen-in in the Meiji era.
The reason for this change was the “Anti-Buddhism” movement of the Meiji era. After defeating the Tokugawa Bakufu regime, the Meiji government sought to bring Japan into a new era. This meant strengthening the symbol and power of the emperor. As a means to do this, they sought to preserve Shintoism and pin down the power and resources of Buddhist temples.
The beginning of the Meiji era saw the oppression of countless temples and the destruction of many sutras and Buddhist sculptures. In the case of Sanzen-in, the temple land inside of Kyoto was seized and they were unable to use the name Kajii Monseki anymore.
The monks of Kajii Monseki were caught in a rut. The name they were so fond of was taken away from them and they were forced to come up with a new name. After debating for some time, the Buddhist monks decided upon a name based off of a motto which hung in the a hall on the grounds, Sanzen-in.
The word Sanzen comes from the principal of “Ichinen Sanzen” which means “in the movement of someone’s heart lies three thousand worlds” or that in each moment, one life has the potential to influence three thousand universes.
Simply explained, we all live in the same world, but each person understands the world in a different way. In other words, within each person exists a different world. If we probe even further, it also means that everyone understands the world through their own hearts. If we were to break apart the movement of our hearts and observe them all, it would be possible to break them up into 3,000 different parts.
Surely you have used social media sites such as Twitter or Faceb ook. Often, you can see a news post on your feed where there are people who agree and disagree on the exact same news.
The fact that different interpretations can be born from the same post attests to the reality that until now everyone has experienced the world differently. We explain our past interpretations and move forward based on these happenings. Our interpretations differ slightly from person to person and are born from experiences we input through our five senses. The Tendai Sect of Buddhism explains that given these interpretations and senses, the way the mind works can be subdivided into three thousand sections.
Emperor Reigan framed the phrase “Sanzen-in” because that hall itself was called Sanzen-in. Thus, Sanzen-in was moved to Ohara and has been called this ever since.