Practice

“From the endless cycle of samsara how can we be freed?  The only way is to practice meditation and correct thinking.”

Kukai, from “The Secret Key to the Heart Sutra” 

(Hakeda, p. 263)

Especially in his later works the founder of Shingon, Kobo Daishi Kukai, often expressed key elements of Buddhism in terse, crystal clear terms.  The above quotation is perhaps one of the most succinct statements about the essentials of the path to liberation in all of recorded Dharma.  

In the second section of his exposition on Kukai’s “Thought” entitled, “ Essentials of Kukai’s Esoteric Buddhist Thought and Practice”,  Professor Hakeda defines two aspects of “Kukai’s Esoteric Buddhism”.  The first is kyoso, the “theoretical aspect ” and secondly is jiso, the “practical aspect ” (Hakeda, p. 76).   Further, Professor Hakeda elaborates that the practical dimension of Kukai’s Buddhism is also broken down into two aspects.  First is kai or “observance of the precepts” and secondly was jo or “ sitting in meditation” (Hakeda, p. 93).  

From the earliest days of his teaching in the West, Ajari Tanaka has emphasized practice of what Professor Hakeda has defined as “jo”.  Since those early days, Ajari Tanaka has worked uninterruptedly to transmit to a small group of his students a collection of meditations and recitation practices that he has established as the core of our training.  Again and again in his discussions and talks with these students, Ajari Tanaka has established practice as the first and single most important commitment his students need to make.  “Step by step, day by day, everyday, one hour, two hours, little by little,” Ajari Tanaka will often say, encouraging his students to develop a daily practice of meditation and to keep to it, allowing practice to become part of the fabric of our everyday lives.  Ajari repeatedly tells his students that through this consistent daily practice we can come to not only grow in our self knowledge, but also find genuine happiness while uncovering our enlightenment.

In the Shingon tradition practice is particularly rich and unusually potent.  For students unfamiliar to Shingon it can be surprisingly technical and refreshingly varied.  Traditionally practice is summarized and referred to as the “Three Mysteries”.  Though the term, the “Three Mysteries” has numerous connotations, most beyond the scope of this discussion, in general the Three Mysteries can be summarized as the meditation practices associated with body, speech and mind.  In his Hizo Hyoaku, or “The Precious Key to the Secret Treasury” Kukai explains,

“The Three Mysteries are: the mystery of body - to make the mudras and to invoke the presence of the sacred object of meditation: the mystery of speech - to recite the mantras in secret, pronouncing them distinctly without making the slightest error: the mystery of mind - to be absorbed in yoga, keeping one’s mind in a wholesome state like that of the bright, pure, and full moon, and to meditate on the enlightened Mind” 

(Hakeda, p. 220). 

In Shingon, practice involves the whole person in the effort toward enlightenment. The body, the voice and the creative powers of the mind are all utilized to uncover and develop what is essential and inherent in each of us.  As students of Ajari Tanaka we should make every effort to establish a consistent daily practice, faithfully making use of the meditation methods according to those instructions we have received.  With the guidance of the teacher, the help of our fellow students and the support of Shingon’s methods of meditation our commitment and effort can become our path to happiness, and self knowledge.

Setting the Wheel in Motion

After even the most cursory review of his work, its obvious that Shakamuni Buddha was a very careful teacher.  His teachings are decidedly direct, always logical and extremely well constructed.  Though many are in response to spontaneous, individual circumstances they are  certainly not incomplete or haphazard.  Even an informal reading the early sutras shows that the Buddha’s teaching were distinctly purposeful.

Recognizing that, its important to note that before Shakamuni shared his most fundamental teachings regarding the nature of suffering and the path to liberation he laid a cornerstone that deserves special attention.  It’s common thinking that the first teaching of the Buddha was the Four Noble Truths.  And in essence this is correct.  But it’s also not quite exact.  Before the Buddha expounded the Four Noble Truths, he set the ground, describing the context for the first turning of the wheel of Dharma.

“O, bhikkus, one who has gone forth from worldly life should not indulge in these two extremes.  What are these two? There is indulgence in desirable sense objects, which is low, vulgar, worldly, ignoble, unworthy, and unprofitable and there is devotion to self mortification, which is painful, unworthy, and unprofitable.”

“O bhikkhus, avoiding both extremes, the Thathagata has realized the Middle Path. It produces vision, it produces knowledge, it leads to calm, to higher knowledge, to enlightenment, to nibbanna.”

(Rewata, p. 17)

In the brief statement above, Shakamuni expounds a teaching that is pivotal to correct understanding of Buddhism and its whole history of teaching.  If we let it, the above quote can be the context in which all subsequent teachings, from the Four Noble Truths to the nature of the Dharmakaya Buddha, Mahavairocana are apprehended and all our practices are conducted.  And that context, that perspective couldn’t be any more simple, it couldn’t be more down to earth.  That context, that perspective is nothing more than balance.  

In our modern life we are continuously exposed to extremes.  Commercial media constantly bombards with fickle,conflicting messages, “must do this, never do that”.  Crisis is ever present and the promise of salvation, whether from ill health, financial struggle, personal inconvenience or spiritual need is also everywhere.  The opportunity to indulge oneself is ubiquitous.  Likewise the urge to disconnect, to reject our lives as we find them can be equally powerful.  Its easy to begin viewing much of modern life as negative or corrupt.  If we believed everything we see or read in the news its as if we can’t do anything without triggering catastrophic consequence.

The first and perhaps most important step once we choose Dharma as our path is to gently and consistently try to bring a balanced approach to all things - life, work, relationships, everything.  Even our pursuit of Buddhism should be tempered with balance.  This is especially true as we undertake training in the Shingon tradition.  Heavenly Buddhas, fierce protectors, regal bodhisattvas, esoteric rituals, mudra, mantra, visualization - it is easy to stray into the extremes in this rich and sometimes ambiguous environment.  As we follow our chosen path, balance in all things can be our best friend.

Master Kukai taught that all teachings contain important, but easily missed esoteric elements.  Our own Ajari Tanaka, while spending a lifetime teaching powerful and profound esoteric meditation methods consistently brings our attention to the fundamental teachings of Shakamuni Buddha.  The small, maybe overlooked teaching about the two extremes and the middle way is one of these elements - simple in form but profound in its implications for the practitioner, whether embraced or neglected.  The Buddha himself tells us that by avoiding the extremes he found the middle way, which lead to his insight, his wisdom, his tranquility, his deep understanding and ultimately to his complete enlightenment.

Bibliography

The First Discourse of the Buddha, Turing the Wheel of the Dhamma

By Venerable Dr. Rewata Dhamma

Wisdom Publications, 1997

"Achieving Enlightenment in this Very Existence"

"All beings can truly attain enlightenment..." 

Last evening we had our first ever, formal sangha discussion group. Our topic was Master Kukai's seminal work, "Attaining Enlightenment in this Very Existence." We relied on the translation in Prof. Hakeda's, "Kukai: Major Works" for the reading. The idea was for each participant to pick at least one thing from the piece to discuss with the group. It could be something that struck one as profound, confusing, inspiring or just plain worthy of talking through.

Six students attended and happily, almost everyone had recently read Master Kukai's essay.

We began with a little background. "Attaining Enlightenment in this Very Existence" is one of Kukai's Trilogy, his "sambu no sho". Along with "The Meanings of Sound, Word and Reality" and "The Meanings of the Word HUM" they comprise Kukai's most concise articulations of Shingon's view. These three essays, aim "to demonstrate the validity of Kukai's Esoteric doctrine and to persuade the reader of the effectiveness of his approach" (Hakeda, p. 76).

Jumping into our discussion we talked over and tried to untangle such lofty notions as the "power of mirror-like wisdom", the Six Great Elements, the pervasive buddhahood symbolized by Mahavairocana and the place of meditation in helping to make sense of all this. Not surprisingly, connections to Ajari Tanaka's familiar teachings were made. Everyone contributed something of note and the give and take was rich - sometimes earnest, sometimes hilarious. It is safe to say, we all enjoyed this initial stab at a formal group discussion on a distinctly relevant and meaningful topic.

More importantly, we all decided to do it again. So stay tuned and try not to miss the next one.

Kukai: Major Works by Yoshito S. Hakeda, Columbia University Press, 1972

(The quote in bold at the start of this post can be found in the above book on page 227)

  

Discipline

All schools of Buddhism recognize what Shingon’s founder, Kobo Daishi Kukai referred to as the “Three Items of Mastery” (Hakeda 1972, p. 172).  These are sila, samadhi and prajna.  Sila is generally rendered as discipline, samadhi as meditation and prajna alternatively as knowledge, insight and/or wisdom.  Of these three it is easy to understand the purpose and experience the benefits of meditation practice.  Similarly we can readily appreciate the deep knowledge, penetrating insight and practical wisdom of an articulate and experienced Dharma teacher.  But discipline is a little different.  Initially at least it might not be so easy to appreciate.  

Discipline can be a challenge.  Discipline sets limits, discipline draws clear lines.  Without regret or hesitation, discipline defines what we should not do and compels the pursuit of what we should do.  The Dhammapada’s chapter entitled, “The Bhikku” is a vivid example.  It begins:

It is good to restrain the eye.

It is good to restrain the ear.

It is good to restrain the nose.

It is good to restrain the tongue.

It is good to restrain the body.

It is good to restrain the mind.

It is good to restrain thought.

Restraint in all things is good.

The bhikku with restraint in all things

Will be free from suffering.

(Maitreya 1995, p. 97)

This is a very interesting and challenging teaching.   Perhaps even more surprising, the Dhammapada further states:

Neither learning nor embracing solemn vows,

Nor achieving a great state of concentration, 

Nor living alone will assure nirvana.

Nirvana is only achieved by right action.

(Maitreya 1995, p. 73)

As modern practitioners this type of teaching might be something very different from our current ideas and interests in spirituality.   Many of us have grown up in a world were individual choice and personal freedom have created many widely recognized advances both socially and individually.  In addition, we are not constrained by many of the beliefs and cultural norms common in more traditional societies.  So, for us, discipline might be quite foreign.  Discipline might seem as if it is a limitation, a hinderance.  Discipline might bring to mind an arbitrary, external constraint on our personal freedom, creativity and expression.  As a modern practitioner of an ancient path, we might need to take some time and put some effort into properly understanding what discipline really is.  We might have to put some work into discovering how to incorporate discipline into our personal practice to ensure it is done in a balanced manner. 

That being said, all schools of Buddhism call for discipline.  From its very founding Buddhism employed systems of conduct, prohibitions and specific activities to be cultivated as an essential element within its training.  The Buddha developed the vinaya, the monastic code of conduct for his ordained monks and nuns.  The vinaya is a complex system of prohibitions and practices that cover hundreds of individual restrictions.  Regarding this discipline he taught and required of his students, in the Cakkavatti-Sihanada Sutta, the Buddha gives the following,  most interesting comment:

“And what is beauty for a monk? Here, a monk practices right conduct, is restrained according to the discipline, is perfect in behavior and habits, sees danger in the slightest fault, and trains in the rules of training he has undertaken.  That is beauty for a monk.”

(Walshe 1987, p. 405)

The Buddha also taught a simple five-fold discipline for lay people which includes;

No killing or harming

No stealing

No lying

No adultery

No imbibing in intoxicants

Dr. Walpola Rahula echos the discipline described above in his description of sila found in his seminal work, “What the Buddha Taught”.  Dr. Rahula indicates that discipline is composed of the third, fourth and fifth aspects of the Eightfold Path - specifically Right Speech, Right Action and Right Livelihood.  Further Dr. Rahula describes the purpose of discipline is “promoting a happy and harmonious life both for the individual and society.“  Most importantly Dr. Rahula credits discipline as being “the indispensable foundation for all higher spiritual attainments” (Rahula 1959, p. 47).

Mahayana Buddhism also recognizes discipline as a critical component of spiritual training by its inclusion, along with generosity, patience, energy, meditation and prajna within the Six Paramitas.  Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche, longtime Abbot of the Karma Kagyu Monastery in Woodstock, New York defines the paramita of discipline simply and succinctly as follows:

“Discipline has three aspects.  The first is not harming others or ourselves, the second is doing what is wholesome and virtuous for ourselves, and the third is helping others.”

(Karthar 1992, p. 150)

 Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, a more radical representative of Tibetan Mahayana lectured and taught extensively on the Bodhisattva path.  In his early work, “The Myth of Freedom” he made the following characterization of the bodhisattva’s discipline:

“The purity of the bodhisattva referred to by the shila paramita is based upon making friends with oneself, loving oneself.  You are not a nuisance to yourself anymore; you are good company, an inspiration to yourself.  You do not have to control yourself so as to avoid temptations or follow rules or laws.  You find temptations less relevant and guidelines less necessary, because you naturally follow appropriate patterns... Unskillful action becomes irrelevant.”

(Trungpa 1976, p.111)

In our basic Shingon recitation practices we encounter the "Juzenkai" or ten precepts. They are:

From this day forward to the end of the future,

I will not kill

I will not steal

I will not commit adultery

I will not lie

I will not exaggerate

I will not slander

I will not turn one person against another by equivocation

I will not be greedy

I will not be hateful

I will not persist in wrong views

Note that the first three are related to body, the middle four are related to speech and the final three are related to mind.  This marks the Juzenkai as classically esoteric in nature and design as its disciplines include the whole range of the practitioner’s activities of body, speech and mind.  It also harkens back to the historical Buddha’s disciplines in style while excluding some specific items and broadening the overall scope of commitment by adding others.

In addition to Shingon’s basic form of discipline, the Mahavairocana Sutra describes the "shiju kinkai", or fourfold prohibitions which describes a very different dimension, and perhaps deeper level of Buddhist discipline.  In his work ”Shingon: Japanese Esoteric Buddhism” Professor Yamasaki renders the shiju kinkai as follows:

Never abandon the Dharma

Never give up the aspiration to enlightenment

Never be stingy with the teachings

Never engage in any action that does not benefit sentient beings

These are also referred to as the samaya precepts, or samaya-kai.  Professor Yamasaki defines “samaya” as “equality, vow, removal of obstructions, awakening” (Yamasaki 1988, p. 57).

Finally, Kobo Daishi makes the following, enigmatic comment on discipline in a poem sent to a nobleman in Kyoto about his desire to remain at his mountain retreat, Koya-san:

“Discipline in the woods alone lets us soon enter the eternal Realm.”

(Hakeda 1972, p. 52)

As modern practitioners, undoubtedly we need to take a good look at traditional disciplines.  We would do well to develop a unbiased understanding and appreciation of the role these disciplines have played in the traditions we study.  Further we need to embrace how they might play a role in our own personal practice and path.  Without suppressing or straying into any extreme, we need to carefully consider embracing the simple idea of avoiding actions or dwelling in mental states that cause negative results.   Carefully making our own choices we should explore how discipline can be a tangible support for our life of meditation.  The example of our own teacher, Ajari Tanaka shows that discipline, consistently practiced in a thoughtful, balanced manner can create real simplicity in our lives.  And that simplicity can be liberating.

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Bibliography

Yoshito S. Hakeda, Kukai: Major Works, copyright 1972, Columbia Press

Balangoda Ananda Maitreya, The Dhammapada The Path of Truth, copyright 1995, Paralax Press

Maurice Walshe, Thus Have I Heard The Long Discourses of the Buddha, copyright 1987, Wisdom Publications

Walpola Rahula, What the Buddha Taught, copyright 1959, Grove Press

Ven. Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche, Dharma Paths, copyright 1992, Snow Lion Publications

Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, The Myth of Freedom, copyright 1976, Shambhala Publications, Inc.

Taiko Yamasaki, Shingon: Japanese Esoteric Buddhism, copyright 1988, Shambhala Publications, Inc.

Retreat 2009

The keystone event of Ajari Tanaka's September 2009 visit was our retreat. Conducted at Vermont's South Starksboro Meeting House, Ajari Tanaka spent five and a half days training, practicing with and enjoying a group of participants that included both his most senior students from the US, Europe and Canada as well as a small number of students very new to Shingon.

The retreat site is a very spartan and historic building, used by generations of Vermont Quakers who have lived and worshipped in these deep hills for centuries.  During the retreat we began each day with the recitation of the RIshu-kyo, a very deep and profound sutra that contains many core Shingon teachings. Its title roughly translated is "The Sutra of the Way of Great Enjoyment;" In addition, its recitation is a very powerful meditation. Our day continued with many other classic recitations, meditations and also the use of various symbolic hand gestures (mudra) as part of our core retreat practices.

After a fun and always talkative lunch together, our afternoons recommenced with Shodo ("the way of the brush" or commonly know as traditional Japanese calligraphy) lessons. Since his arrival in Vermont this year, Ajari had been working on a classic Japanese cultural text as his most recent shodo study. Called the "Chichi Haha no On", it is ten classic reasons why we should appreciate and respect our parents. Ranging from changing our diapers to worrying about us when we are grown, it catalogs those things only our parents can do for us. Over the course of three days of lessons, Ajari taught us the ten core lines. We struggled to absorb his genius, but practiced none the same.

We also enjoyed late afternoon Shomyo lessons, or what Ajari has called "voiced enlightenment". Shingon includes a very musical and elaborate form of chanting, not unlike Gregorian or certain Tibetan practices that are normally done by monks or priests. Patiently, Ajari Tanaka has worked to train us in this exacting discipline using Shingon's six basic Shomyo "songs". This year was particularly rewarding.

We sincerely hope that anyone interested in the buddha dharma and especially Shingon will take note of our teacher's boundless generosity and our sangha's immense good fortune. We invite all interested students to contact us and we sincerely hope we are able to help support and foster your path.