Terms of Service

Last updated 8 November 2026

Kūzan-ji (“the temple”, “we”) is a website at kuzanji.com for sitting in silence, receiving a dharma name, and leaving offerings such as lanterns, wishes and notes of thanks. It is run by its founder as a small independent business. By using it you agree to these terms.

What Kūzan-ji is, and is not

Kūzan-ji is a quiet space and a set of rituals inspired by Japanese Zen temples. It is not a religious organisation, a registered charity, or a medical or mental-health service. Nothing here is a substitute for professional care. If you are in crisis, please contact local emergency services or a crisis line.

Who can use it

You must be at least 16 years old. You may use the temple without an account; your dharma name is kept on your device and, if you choose, linked to your email so you can sign in elsewhere.

What you write

Lanterns, wishes, locks, notes of thanks and tea-room messages are public and anonymous or shown with your dharma name. You keep ownership of what you write and give us permission to display it on the site and in share images you create. Please do not post anything unlawful, hateful, harassing, sexual, or personal information about other people. We filter some words automatically, and we may hide or remove anything at our discretion; posts reported by several people are hidden automatically.

The path and its roles

Roles on the path of practice are earned only by days of sitting. They cannot be bought, sold or transferred, and they have no monetary value.

Offerings and payments

You can buy small digital items: a candle, oil lamp or hall lantern for the temple (布施 Fuse), and memorial lanterns (供養). A Fuse offering lights a lamp on the site, places your dharma name on the patrons' wall and gives you a patron's card image. A memorial lantern appears in the lantern sky for the period you chose: 49 days, 49 days and then each year on its day, or always. These are digital keepsakes; they promise no spiritual, medical or other effect, and they are not tax-deductible donations.

Payments are processed by our reseller and Merchant of Record, Creem, which appears on your statement and handles taxes. Creem's own terms also apply to the purchase. If you choose PayPal instead, the payment is made to us through PayPal and PayPal's user agreement also applies. Prices are shown in US dollars before any tax added at checkout. Refunds are covered by our refund policy.

“Always” means for as long as Kūzan-ji runs. If the temple ever closes, we will give at least 30 days' notice on the site.

Availability

We try to keep the temple open and quiet, but the service is provided “as is”, without warranties, and may change, pause or end. To the extent the law allows, our total liability to you is limited to the amount you paid us in the 12 months before the claim.

Ending use

You can stop using Kūzan-ji at any time and ask us to delete your data (see the privacy policy). We may suspend access for anyone who abuses the site or other people.

Changes and contact

We may update these terms; the date above shows the latest version. Questions: [email protected].