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Shinnyo-en

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Shinnyo-en (真如苑) (meaning "Borderless Garden of Truth") is a Buddhist sangha open to lay and monastic practitioners alike. Its principal teachings are based on the Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra. They also integrate elements of traditional Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana Buddhism as well as teachings and practices initiated by the founders of Shinnyo-en, Shinjō Itō (né Fumiaki Itō; March 28, 1906 – July 19, 1989), a grand master of Shingon Buddhism, and his wife Tomoji Itō (née Tomoji Uchida, May 9, 1912 – August 6, 1967), the first woman in the 1,000-year history of Daigo-ji monastery in Kyoto to receive the rank of daisōjō (大僧正) as a laywoman.

Today, Shinnyo-en has more than one million practitioners worldwide, and temples and training centers in several countries in Asia, Europe and the Americas. The temples are characterised by the statue of the reclining Buddha.

Central to Shinnyo-en is the belief, expressed in the Nirvana Sutra, that all beings possess Buddha-nature, a natural, unfettered purity that can respond creatively and compassionately to any situation in life.

The current head of Shinnyo-en is Her Holiness Shinsō Itō (b. 1942, aka: Keishu), who holds the rank of daisōjō, the highest rank in traditional Shingon Buddhism. On October 16, 2009 she was invited by the Daigo-ji monastery to officiate at a ceremony marking Great Master Shōbō Rigen's 1,100th memorial, becoming the first woman to officiate a service there.

History

Shinnyo-en was established in 1936 by Shinjō Itō (born as Fumiaki Ito) and his wife Tomoji Ito in the Tokyo suburb of Tachikawa. In December 1935, Shinjō Itō and Tomoji Itō had enshrined an image of Mahavairochana Achala (believed to have been sculpted by the renowned Buddhist sculptor, Unkei) and they began a 30-day period of winter austerities in early 1936. Tomoji cultivated her spiritual faculty (Jpn. Reinō) on February 4, inheriting it from her aunt. From that time, Tomoji and Shinjō began a new life together entirely devoted to encouraging people's spiritual growth.

In May 1936, Shinjo Ito was ordained and given the priestly name of 'Tensei' by Daisōjō and Chief Abbot Egen Saeki, at the Sanbō-in Temple of the Daigo school of Shingon Buddhism. The Chief Abbot conferred to him the monastic name of 'Shinjō', meaning 'True Vehicle', and the title of 'Kongō-in', which means 'Adamantine', in December 1938. Accordingly he changed his name from Fumiaki Itō to Shinjō Ito in April 1942.

The community was first named 'Risshō-kaku', then known as the 'Tachikawa Fellowship of Achala' (Jpn. Tachikawa Fudōson Kyōkai, 1938-1948). Formally registered in 1948 under the Religious Corporations Ordinance (Jpn. Shūkyō Hōjinrei, enacted in 1945) the name changed to 'Sangha of Truth' (Jpn. Makoto-Kyōdan), having Shinchō-ji as its Head Temple.

In 1950, Shinjo was arrested on an accusation by a former disciple. While the accusation could not be proved during the trial Shinjo Ito was given a sentence of eight months in prison, suspended for three years. During the investigations evidence was given to the fact that Shinjo Ito had trained at Daigo-ji Monastery and became a Maha-acharya (Jpn. Dai-Ajari 大阿闍黎), the highest rank of a Shingon practitioner and a qualified grand master.

The sangha was permitted to continue, but under a different name. It was reorganized and renamed Shinnyo-en on June 21, 1951 and Tomoji Ito became the administrative head of Shinnyo-en. After the revision of the Japanese Religious Corporation Act in April 1951, Shinnyo-en filed an application in the following year and received approval from the Minister of Education on May 16, 1953.

Teachings

The principal Sutra on which the Shinnyo teachings are based is the Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra. The teachings also integrate elements of traditional Theravadan, Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism, cultural influences characteristic to Japanese Buddhism, as well as practices and rituals initiated by Shinjo Ito, the founder of Shinnyo-en.

Organizational structure

The leadership in Shinnyo-en follows the Buddhist tradition of Dharma succession from master to disciple. In 1982 Shinsō Itō (born 1942 as Masako Ito), the third daughter of Shinjō and Tomoji, completes her Buddhist training and becomes a successor in the Shinnyo dharma lineage. After Shinjō's passing on July 19, 1989 Shinsō Itō becomes the head of Shinnyo-en. In 1992, Shinsō Itō was conferred Daisojo, the highest priestly rank in traditional Shingon Buddhism, by the Daigo-ji Shingon Buddhist monastery. She also received an honorary doctorate from Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University in Thailand in 2002 for her long-standing efforts to foster relations with Theravada Buddhism.

The basic organizational unit of the Shinnyo-en sangha is the “lineage” (Jpn. suji), which consists of a number of members linked to a “lineage parent” (Jpn. sujioya). Practitioners usually gather at the temple and training centre for prayer, meditation and training, and, if they so wish, also at home meetings. The sangha as a whole encourages and participates in volunteer activities in the spirit of Buddhist practice.

Spiritual guides, (Jpn. Reinōsha), are practitioners who have been specially trained in order to perform the so-called Sesshin Training, with face-to-face guidance. This kind of meditation training is given only at a Shinnyo-en temple and should help members to understand themselves in light of Buddhist concepts.

In Shinnyo-en's Dharma School (Jpn. Chiryu-Gakuin) members study buddhist doctrine and learn ritualistic aspects. After graduating as a Dharma Teacher they can further qualify for Buddhist ordination (Jpn. Tokudo-Jukai) and receiving traditional monastic ranks.

Social action

Shinnyo-en believes an individual's action can contribute to creating a harmonious society. Working towards this goal, the organization engages in interfaith dialogue, environmental activities, and disaster relief. Shinnyo-en also supports organizations such as Médecins sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders), the Red Cross Society, and the World Wildlife Fund. Their cultural projects include the reconstruction of ancient musical instruments, support for the Kiyosato Museum of Photographic Arts, the excavation of ruins at Angkor Wat in Cambodia, and collecting Cambodian oral folk tales for a children’s book project. (See also Press report of The Indian National Trust for Art & Cultural Heritage(INTACH)) Shinnyoen, in 2001 planned to build nonreligious facilities — including parks and sports and cultural centers — on part of the 1-million-sq.-meter plot between Musashimurayama and Tachikawa in western Tokyo that it planned to purchase from Nissan. “We are hoping to make space accessible and spiritually appealing to the public,” said Minoru Shitara, a Shinnyo-en spokesman. During 2005-2007, Shinnyo-en supported and cooperated with the Jewish-Palestinian Living Room Dialogue to enact the Palestinian-Jewish Family Peacemakers Camp—Oseh Shalom - Sanea al-Salam at Camp Tawonga that brought hundreds of Muslim, Christian, and Jewish youth and adults into relationship.

Shinnyo-en practice

Shinnyo-en practices a form of meditation called sesshin training. Sesshin (the word is composed of the two Chinese characters, “touch” and “heart”) is meditation with the addition of guidance or insights given to trainees by specially trained “spiritual guides” (Jpn. Reinōsha).

Through mindfulness and seated meditation, practitioners reflect on themselves and resolve to practice harmony, gratitude, kindness, and acceptance. The school teaches that one realizes his or her true potential by acting with compassion and concern for others. Therefore, practitioners are encouraged to cultivate mindfulness and self-reflection, and to apply in daily life the insights gained in seated meditation.

Shinnyo-en practitioners in pursuing the Path to Nirvana vow to abide by the Five Precepts (Pali: pañca-sīlāni) and follow the Eightfold Path. By learning to identify with others (or "place oneself in the shoes of another"), practitioners aim to cultivate the virtues of a bodhisattva.

Shinnyo-en Buddhist ceremonies

Traditional ceremonies, derived from Shingon Buddhism—many of which can be traced back to ancient Vedic and Hindu ceremonies—are an important aspect of Shinnyo Buddhist practice. Rituals are used as means to purify the mind, awaken compassion, or to express gratitude for the chance to develop oneself and practice the Buddhist teachings. Prayers for ancestors and departed souls, such as the Lantern Floating ceremony, and O-bon (Sanskrit: Ullambana), are believed to also help cultivate kindness and compassion within practitioners. Traditional fire ceremonies such as homa are performed to help practitioners overcome obstacles that hinder their spiritual progress and liberation. (See also Saisho Goma ceremony and Lantern Floating ceremony).

Shinnyo-en and the arts

Shinnyo-en believes art is a way to communicate universal, spiritual truth. Shinnyo-en sponsors many international cultural events to share their aesthetic philosophy. In addition, Shinnyo-en has staged several concerts showcasing the drumming of the Shinnyo-en Taiko Drumming Ensemble.

See also articles in the "Shinnyo-en Buddhist 'Eye Opening' Ceremony In Japan (PHOTOS) First Posted: 10/18/11 06:45 PM Huffington Post", New York Times, Art Knowledge News, and the New York Sun. Also a review; "Review: Shinjo Ito’s Art @ Milk Gallery Chelsea 11mar08"

See also

Notes

  1. A Bibliography of...; 7
  2. "
  3. Usui, p.234–235.
  4. Shinnyo-en official Japanese website
  5. ("Cult brush tars modern faiths" "New religions struggle against negative perceptions" BY HIROSHI MATSUBARA Japan Times News-2001/10/25)
  6. Peacemaker Camp 2007, website
  7. The Path of Oneness, p.193
  8. Kealii, "Ninth Annual Lantern Floating Ceremony," May 2007
  9. "Address by Her Holiness Keishu Shinso, Saisho Homa, Taiwan, October 27th, 2007."In Step. Number 7, November 2007.
  10. "Buddha Ripples," p. 7
  11. Melville, 'More than a Drop in the Ocean,' "Buddha Ripples," p. 162–167.

References

External links

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Shinjo Ito quotes

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  • "The spirit of Buddhism is, more than anything, about valuing harmony and unity, in which others are respected and embraced rather than denounced. This has been the way of Buddhism since the beginning, and this is true Buddhism".
  • "The Buddha shared his teachings so that everyone, without exception, could reach the same supreme state of liberation that he had attained through practice and effort".
  • "Sometimes when people see a successful person, they either become envious or attribute their success to luck, forgetting the efforts the person has made to get there."
  • "Examine the present and learn from the past to see how the future will unfold. Too often we just look at the present and base our actions solely on that".
  • "What is most important is to go deep into ourselves and discover the loving kindness and compassion of the buddha within – the awakened nature we all possess".
  • "You may have seen people praying to an image as if it had special power. Perhaps they're wishing for the well-being of their family, for material prosperity, or to recover from illness. But this way of practicing faith only leads to a dead end. Buddha images should serve as inspirations to cultivate the infinite loving kindness latent in the buddha within us".

Shinso Ito quote

  • “When we act for the sake of others, it gives rise to joy. Mutual understanding is a result of our efforts to expand the practice of loving kindness and altruism, starting with those around us. I believe that such efforts will ultimately lead to lasting peace in the world.”
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