A soul-soothing way to start the day.

Japanese society tends to have a pretty laid-back attitude about religion, and Buddhism places a high value on harmony between living things. As a result, many of the Buddhist monks you’ll encounter in Japan radiate an aura of calm and tranquility.

It looks like that goes double for the head priest of Chorakuji Temple. Well, quadruple, really if we’re measuring tranquility in cats.

The official Twitter account for the temple, which is located in the town of Nasu in Tochigi Prefecture, recently shared this snapshot of the head priest eating breakfast. Joining him for the morning meal are four cats who also live at the temple, one perched on his knees, and the remaining three standing on the armrests or wedging themselves between the priest and his seat.

While the kitties don’t take up these seating arrangements every single morning, this wasn’t their first time to do so either. Sometimes they even join the priest for dinner en masse, as seen in the photo below.

And, as you might expect, these attention-craving kitties aren’t shy about cuddling up to the priest at other times, either, such as when he’s relaxing with the paper and a cup of tea.

It’s worth mentioning that while the temple’s exterior might look kind of austere…

…“Chorakuji” actually means “temple of long-lasting comfort/enjoyment.”

It’s a fitting name, since assuming the head priest is a cat-lover, it’s hard to imagine a more pleasant way to eat breakfast.

Source: IT Media

Featured image: Twitter/@nasu_chourakuji