Mandala Training - Meditation as "Kan"

No matter where they originate, all the traditions and various schools of Buddhism include meditation as an intrinsic part of the path.  Shakyamuni Buddha achieved enlightenment under the Bodhi Tree by practicing methods he learned and discovered over six years of uninterrupted and consummately dedicated practice.  It's hard to imagine Buddhism without a genuine commitment to meditative discipline.  Ajari Tanaka's teachings are no different and reflect that intrinsic role meditation plays in the path of the buddhadharma in general and the Shingon tradition specifically.

Over the years of his teaching in the West, Ajari Tanaka has introduced three fundamental methods of meditation - Susoku-kan, Gaccharin-kan and Aji-kan.  Collectively, these methods reflect both the basic disciplines and the richness of the Shingon tradition.  It also demonstrates quite clearly Ajari Tanaka's vision for our path.  Each method compliments the others and serves students in a unique way.  Collectively they provide important tools to inspire personal development and at the same time build essential capacities necessary on our path.  Ajari Tanaka has been incredibly generous in sharing and training us in these methods over the years.  We are now grateful to be able to share them with interested students everywhere.

Ajari Tanaka brushing the syllable "KAN"

Before we try to understand the individual meditative methods, let's first explore the suffix "kan".  The Japanese names of Shingon methods of meditation are generally  referred to as some type of "kan",  like the examples mentioned above.  The kanji character used to express this word "kan" is the same character used to express the first syllable of the Japanese name of the well know Bodhisattva of Compassion, Kannon or Kanzeon.

Kanzeon translates roughly as "apprehend the world's sounds" while Kannon might be generally rendered as "apprehend the sounds".  In the context of this bodhisattva, the name indicates the uninterrupted attention to the suffering of all the beings in our samsaric world.  But in the context of Shingon meditations it indicates something important about the approach to meditation practice altogether.

The suffix "kan" suggest that in meditation we are seeing something worth noting.  In our practice we will apprehend things worth carefully attending to.  In meditation, the perceptions themselves are fuel that propels meaningful growth.  The term "Kan" suggests that by using the prism of meditation method we, ourselves are worth investigating.  Our own mind is worth paying close attention to.  By embracing meditative discipline we will see things about ourselves that are both meaningful, enriching and profoundly transformative.

By apprehending ourselves through meditation, unhurreid and patiently over time, utilizing the disciplines of method we can discover the things within us that are already complete, perfect and capable of making a real difference in our life and the lives of others.

We invite students of the buddhadharma everywhere to experience the practices that Ajari Tanaka has shared in his decades of teaching in the West.  Our experience is that they are unique, powerful and genuine.

Our training - an overview

Ajari Tanaka began teaching in the United States in 1978.  Since that time he has taught on a wide variety of subjects.  Within the broad reach of his teachings, Ajari Tanaka has emphasized certain things to the extent that they have become the building blocks of our training.  There are nine general dimensions that form the foundation of how we train.  Some come directly from Shingon, while others are practices and disciplines that Ajari Tanaka believes create meaning, add value or a certain richness to our path.  Collectively, these nine are the tools our teacher has shared with us to explore ourselves, our tradition and his vision.  They are the vehicles we use to progress along our path.

The nine dimensions of our training are:

1. Meditation
2. Recitation
3. The practice of mudra
4. Ritual
5. Traditional, contemplative arts
6. Healthy eating
7. Exercise
8. Study
9. Helping others

During a karate lesson given during one of our early summer retreats, Ajari Tanaka's wife, Yukiko-san explained the Japanese term "keiko".  She explained that keiko meant "practice".  She left the impression that it was what we do to make progress, its what we do to spur personal growth, its what we do to uncover what we are really capable of.  Our nine dimensions of training are the "stuff" of our practice, it's our keiko.


Over the next weeks and months, we will explore more of the details of our training.  We will look into each dimension individually.  Our hope is this will help share a more complete understanding of our practices, the Shingon tradition and most specifically the teachings of Ajari Jomyo Tanaka.

 Stay tuned...

Liberation of the Mind

“Discipline is for the purpose of restraint, restraint is for the purpose of non- remorse, non-remorse is for the purpose of gladdening, gladdening is for the purpose of happiness, happiness is for the purpose of tranquillity, tranquillity is for the purpose of bliss, bliss is for the purpose of concentration, concentration is for the purpose of correct knowledge and vision, correct knowledge and vision is for the purpose of dispassion, dispassion is for the purpose of fading away [of greed], fading away is for the purpose of deliverance, deliverance is for the purpose of knowledge and vision of deliverance, knowledge and vision of deliverance is for the purpose of complete extinction [of craving, etc.] through not clinging. Talk has that purpose, counsel has that purpose, support has that purpose, giving ear has that purpose, that is to say, the liberation of the mind through not clinging.”

From The Visuddhimagga, The Path of Purification, by Bhadantacariya Buddhaghosa, translated by Bhikkhu Nanamoli (Third online edition, Buddhist Publication Society, 2011, p. 16)