Three Wheels Temple

Three Wheels is a Shin Buddhist temple in London, England, founded in 1994. 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.^: 286

The temple was founded by Kemmyō Taira Sato, a former pupil of D. T. Suzuki,^{: 10 : 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,^: 15–16 and it opened in 1997.^: 290

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,^: 297 and services such as funerals and weddings. The temple also hosts bi-monthly eza gatherings, which feature dharma talks in English.^: 289 The term "eza" means "to meet and sit"^: 296 and is a distinctive practice within the Shogyōji lineage of temples, compared with the wider Shin Buddhist movement.^: 289

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