The slope of the road approaching the temple used to be called “Nunobiki-zaka” after the temple of Nunobiki Kannon which was destroyed in the Zenkoji earthquake. Even though the temple is no longer here, the folklore behind it remains. Let’s listen to another story that features a cow at Zenkoji Temple.
The first part of the story will sound familiar: A non-religious woman lived in a village some distance away from Zenkoji Temple and a cow got caught in her laundry and ran away. The woman chased the cow all the way to Zenkoji, and once she arrived at the main hall it was already dark outside. It’s only once she arrives at the temple that the story starts to take its own shape.
She noticed many people were entering the hall to begin the customary “Okomori”, the tradition in which worshipers stay overnight at the temple and chant the Nembutsu together.
The woman found herself drawn into the main hall where she witnessed the Okomori for herself. The scene impressed her and she started to join the chanting as well, although rather timidly at first. She thought, “What am I doing? I’m not religious, I’ve never done this kind of thing before. I don’t even believe in Buddhism.” Yet the more she chanted, the more her heart swelled with gratitude for the Buddha. It was at that moment she swore to become a devout Buddhist.
She stayed there all night chanting with her fellow Buddhists and greeted the morning feeling refreshed and full of life. As she headed back to her village, she passed the sloped road “Nunobiki-Zaka” and a small prayer hall nearby. She decided to enter the hall, and something shocked her as soon as she did. It was her laundry the cow took from her, that had led her here to her new fate.
“This must be a message from the Buddha.” At that moment she decided to become a nun at this temple, and she served Buddha here until the end.