So sorry it has been such a long time since we have made an update to the Mandala Vermont blog, but like many things, our practices, activities and programs really got scrambled by the pandemic. But now it looks like we are safely past the biggest challenges and are beginning the first efforts to start fresh.
In the spirit of starting again, a longtime student of Ajari Tanaka and I recently visited Japan and were able to spend quite a bit of time with him. I'm happy to report Ajari is happy and healthy and very active in Japan. He gives tons of lectures through the courses he teaches at Waseda University and other places as well as leading pilgrimages throughout Japan. Check out this picture of him enjoying an orange creemee in a shop near Imabari City on Shikoku Island.
While we were in Tokyo he visited Sensoji with us and then Takahata Fudo where we were able to attend a fire ceremony. Next we traveled with Ajari and a group of about twenty of his Japanese students to experience a taste of the Shikoku Pilgrimage. On this bus tour pilgrimage we visited the temples in the third section of the pilgrimage, located in Ehime Prefecture. We visited over twenty temples, learned the practice done by pilgrims at each temple, got to know many wonderful Japanese students of Ajari Tanaka, ate amazing local food and of course, spent lots of time with him.
Before our trip ended, back in Tokyo he accompanied us to Narita-san, a large Shingon temple a couple of train stops from the airport, to walk the grounds and attend another goma fire ceremony.
It was great to visit with Ajari Tanaka again but most importantly he hinted he may be coming to Vermont for another visit in 2024. I will certainly keep you posted as we work to make that happen.
Closer to home, we are beginning to have regular monthly sangha practices, both in person at my home dojo in New Haven, VT and also via zoom. During the pandemic a hardy group of our sangha members pioneered zoom practice and thanks to them it's now a regular part of our practice. It's really great as students from as far away as Maine, California, New Orleans and New York can all take part. That's pretty awesome.
And as always if you are interested in exploring Shingon with us, please feel free to email us at mandalavermont@gmail.com.
Take care,
jim
P.S. Our old website has lost its hosting service, so for now this blog will be where we share what's going on with Mandala Vermont.
