Since the start of my training with Ajari Tanaka in the late 1980's we practiced the recitation of a very short sutra called the "Enmei Juku Kannon Gyo" every time Ajari conducted group practice at the original Mandala Center in Lincoln Vermont. And as the time went by the duration and intensity of these recitations increased as Ajari lead this practice in a similar way he conducted mantra practice.
Later, in the mid-nineties Ajari Tanaka started to give as gifts copies of the Enmei Juku Kannon Gyo, the ten line, long life Avalokitesvara Sutra. In the late 1990's, some of us who attended Ajari's "summer camp", a ten day intensive were gifted signed and sealed copies of this sutra.
In 1999 when Ajari Tanaka informed his small group of students that our Mandala Center would close and he would need to move back to Japan, an even smaller group helped him prepare for the move. We gathered up everything Ajari needed to take or be shipped back to Japan. We arranged for a storage unit for things to stay behind. But most importantly he gifted us the treasure of Shingon. Shrine furniture, shrine objects, beautiful mandala, vajra and bell, meditation cushions, books and untold other treasures. Ajari's generosity and trust was overwhelming. He acted as if the few of us who'd trained with him could transplant Shingon first in Vermont and then entire U.S.
In all the many things Ajari left with us we found other treasures we were unaware of. During his time in Vermont Ajari had a shodo studio in his home. When we cleaned it out we found stacks of copies of the Enmei Juku Kannon Gyo. Like, mountains of them. It was then obvious that Ajari had been using this sutra as an Oshakyo practice for a long time. Some were just the sutra. Others were signed. Others were signed and sealed with his personal seal. And a spare few were signed and sealed with both his personal seal and the seal of the Mandala Center. And if that wasn't enough, we found a sizable collection of the same sutra brushed by Yukiko-san, Mrs. Tanaka. And they were all beautiful.
In 1999 when Ajari Tanaka informed his small group of students that our Mandala Center would close and he would need to move back to Japan, an even smaller group helped him prepare for the move. We gathered up everything Ajari needed to take or be shipped back to Japan. We arranged for a storage unit for things to stay behind. But most importantly he gifted us the treasure of Shingon. Shrine furniture, shrine objects, beautiful mandala, vajra and bell, meditation cushions, books and untold other treasures. Ajari's generosity and trust was overwhelming. He acted as if the few of us who'd trained with him could transplant Shingon first in Vermont and then entire U.S.
In all the many things Ajari left with us we found other treasures we were unaware of. During his time in Vermont Ajari had a shodo studio in his home. When we cleaned it out we found stacks of copies of the Enmei Juku Kannon Gyo. Like, mountains of them. It was then obvious that Ajari had been using this sutra as an Oshakyo practice for a long time. Some were just the sutra. Others were signed. Others were signed and sealed with his personal seal. And a spare few were signed and sealed with both his personal seal and the seal of the Mandala Center. And if that wasn't enough, we found a sizable collection of the same sutra brushed by Yukiko-san, Mrs. Tanaka. And they were all beautiful.
In the years ahead, Ajari would visit Vermont each autumn. In the early 2000's it was our custom to hold a retreat during his visit at the South Starksboro Friends Meeting House. Each day of the retreat was filled with practice, as well as a Shomyo and Shodo lessons. Over the years these Shodo lessons ranged over a wide variety of selections - mantra, specific characters, Japanese folk advice about why we should love our parents. All kinds of stuff. None of us were very good at Shodo, but we dutifully tried.
During three of those retreats, Ajari dedicated our Shodo lessons to teaching us the entire Enmei Juku Kannon Gyo. Though relatively short, the piece includes fifty characters. Fortunately some repeat. But it was a big undertaking. Needless to say, none of use walked away from the retreat feeling as if we could confidently practice this on our own, even those of us that were there all three times.
But we did walk away with a deeper understanding of this little sutra, as Ajari spent a fair amount of time explaining the different kanji and their meaning. It was really a unique experience, one in which Ajari's teaching was directly transmitted through the medium of Shodo.
Sadly, I don't think the practice has stuck much with Ajari's students. I have labored over the years, making a number of specific efforts to learn, memorize and practice this Oshakyo, only to stop and quickly forget what I had worked to absorb. One year on a beach vacation I practiced by scratching the characters in the wet sad at low tide. Other times I used a mechanical pencil to try and memorize the stroke order and proper shape of the characters without the complexity added by a brush.
Now, during the current coronavirus pandemic, I have found myself gravitating back to this old practice. I started slowly, using a sharpie, practicing one line at a time, trying to knock the rust off. Pleasantly, the memory of the characters, the stroke order, the alignment wasn't to far below the surface. With in a few weeks time I was back to completing the whole sutra with its title in short order. I guess the old effort was still in there somewhere.
The next step is to put away the sharpie and get out the brush.
I will always be grateful for all the wonderful teachings and practices Ajari has shared over the years. But I have to say the Oshakyo of the Enmei Juku Kannon Gyo stands out. Among all our practices, it represents a very personal expression of Ajari Tanaka's dharma. It reflects something very close to his essential, core message...
