Ueno Daibutsu...

I'm a big fan of Ueno Park.  On my last two trips to Japan, while visiting Tokyo, I stayed at a hotel in Taito City within walking distance of the park.  In March and April the cherry blossoms are amazing as the park has around 1000 cherry trees.  But the Japanese locals enjoying the hanami - cherry blossom viewing - eating, drinking and just relaxing are the best.  It's hard to imagine us American's doing anything like it.

Additionally, there are amazing museums, temples, shrines, a pond as well as great places to just stroll in the park to just enjoy Japan's cultural richness.  

Despite all that, there is one thing in the park that, at least to me, stands out as totally unique, a one of a kind, totally worth seeking out, a really special thing.  Especially if you are a Dharma person.

It's the Ueno Daibutsu.  Yeah, move over Nara, Ueno has it's own Great Buddha.

On the grounds of the Ueno Daibutsu is a really unusual stupa, almost Indian in it's design and feeling.  It's marked with Siddham syllables on the four sides of it's middle layer, signaling a tantric connection.  In contrast, the eight spoked Dharma Wheel (a symbol of the Eight Fold Path) that adorn it's doors link it to the historical Buddha and his original teachings.  The moss growing on it's shoulders, gives it a very ancient and natural look and feel.

Originally, the Ueno Daibutsu was an Edo Period (1603 - 1868) bronze statue of Shakamuni Buddha dating to 1631.  Here he is in his original, meditative glory...

The Ueno Daibutsu was struck by an earthquake early on after it's casting but restored in 1640.  A fire in 1841 and another earthquake in 1855 both required additional restoration.  But the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 toppled the statue's head...

And then much of the remaining body was melted down for Japan's Pacific War, what we call World War II.  

Sadly, only Shakamuni's face is left for us to see, appreciate and know today...

It's simply amazing that we can see this Buddha's face hundred's of years and untold catastrophes after it's creation.  It's lidded eyes and serene features are vivid and full of meaning, having survived almost 400 tumultuous years.  The efforts of the Japanese people who preserved this Buddha face against all odds are even more amazing than what remains of the original statue.  I know I'm grateful to them all.

If you happen to be in Tokyo, please visit Ueno Park and try to find this Buddha.  He's well worth a visit...

jim

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ueno_Daibutsu

P.S. If you are interested in the study and practice of Shingon, one of Japan's few surviving tantric (vajrayana) traditions please reach out to us at mandalavermont@gmail.com...

Book Review: A History of Japan...

I found this book in a bookstore in the Naritia Airport as I waited for my flight back to Vermont.  I picked it up with every intention of reading it on the plane.  Instead I watched three movies trying to pass the time as I was so psyched to be heading home I just couldn't concentrate enough to read.  

But since I've been back I've been (slowly) reading this book and I have to say it's great.  It starts with Japanese pre-history, which may stretch back 30,000 years and traces Japanese history, life and culture up to the Occupation after World War II.  It treats cultural elements such as poetry, religion, art and architecture with wonderful appreciation as well as politics and war with informative detail.

But most of all it reminded me that all of Buddhism, with our Shingon being no exception happens in a historical context that shapes, contributes and even constrains its expression, development and eventual character.  And if anyone wishes to understand Shingon or Buddhism or anything cultural phenomena it has to include what we can and can't know about the time and place it happened.

So, even though I haven't finished it yet, I'm very enthusiastic about this book.  Give it a try if you want to get a nice introduction to Japan's history without going back to college.

jim

A History of Japan, Revised Edition

R.H.P. Mason & J.G. Caiger

Tuttle Publishing

1997

Japan Trip, Spring 2024: Intro...

In spring of 2023 I was able to visit Japan after not travelling there since 2008.  Most of the Covid related restrictions had eased, allowing me to again visit Ajari Tanaka.  I hadn't seen him since his last Vermont visit (2019), an interruption of nearly four years.  True to form, he met me at the airport and we rode the Keisei Skyliner to the station in Ueno near my hotel.

It was wonderful to reconnect after all those years.   Prior to this interruption, from 2000 to 2019 he visited Vermont every year (except once) for a two week visit during which he conducted sangha retreats, gave advanced teachings, visited his Vermont friends, performed calligraphy demonstrations, led meditations and among lots of other stuff, just enjoyed the time in a place he'd lived for twelve years.

Prior to 1999, as Ajari lived here in Vermont and I saw him all the time and actively trained with him for ten years.  That was the best.  Really, the absolute best...

So I was pretty spoiled and had grown accustomed to spending time with Ajari Tanaka regularly, training and working on things with him and just visiting, enjoying his company.

But now Ajari is older and it doesn't seem like a long trek to Vermont is in the cards. 

Plus, I have gotten a taste for visiting Japan, so I went back again this spring.  The trip included a short stay in Tokyo, the final section of the Shikoku pilgrimage with Ajari and his Japanese students (amazing), a brief visit to Koyasan (also with Ajari and his students), a long visit to Nara (fantastic) and then a few more days in Tokyo.  It was spectacular.

I'm already plotting my 2025 trip...

Stay tuned for the details from this year's trip...

P.S. If you are interested in the study and practice of Shingon as taught by Ajari Tanaka please email us at mandalavermont@gmail.com... 

Mountain Training

 

Ajari Tanaka has shared many forms of spiritual training with his students over the years.  Meditation, recitation, sadhana, shodo, shomyo, mudra and pilgrimage to name most.  Some have been enthusiastically taken up, while others are less commonly practiced among the small group of active students here in the states and Canada.  

One of my favorites of these lesser methods is what Ajari sometimes called "mountain practice."  On other occasions he called it "yamabushi training", elaborating that his maternal grandparents were part of a long line of yamabushi.  This type of practice for us takes two forms, one is a very simple waterfall practice and the other is just hiking in the Vermont hills and mountains.

Less than five miles from my house is the trail head for Buck Mountain.  It's not a big mountain, to be fair when compared to the bigger mountain in Vermont like Came's Hump or Mount Abe, it's just a good sized hill.  Be that as it may, it has a wonderful trail that passes though some beautiful forest and at the rocky summit one finds a gorgeous view of the Central Champlain Valley, Otter Creek, Lake Champlain and the High Peaks of New York's Adirondacks.  So well worth the forty-five or so minutes to the summit.

This summer we have had a ton of rain and so hiking took a back burner.  Muddy trails and mosquitoes make the adventure much less alluring.  But we are in a nice spell of dry weather and the trails are firmed up and the cooler temperatures have sent the bugs to their hiding places.   So at quarter to seven this morning I was walking from my car to the trail head.

The walk was as lovely as I remembered it, not too steep but with enough rise to get the heart going.  The leaves, viewed from the forest floor, showed their yellowing as autumn asserts itself.  But mostly it was quiet.  My car was the first in the parking lot and there was not a soul in sight.  Cool fresh air, chipmunks, birds, squirrels, and me.  It was fantastic.

At the summit I lingered longer than I usually do.  There was some cloud cover that got thicker to the south, that put some surreal distance between me and the High Peaks, turning their silhouettes to dark blue shadows.  The sky was slowly brightening, back lighting the mountains while the valley is still showing its late summer lush green.  I sat for a long time, enjoying the quiet and remembering some hikes we took with Ajari Tanaka, back in the day.  But mostly the tangible, quiet, the real relaxation from the effort, the spectacular view and all that space, that wide open space were the morning's reward.

My walk out was slow but very enjoyable.  I'm not as spry as I used to be, so I pick my way down hiking trails these days.  And truth be told, I was happy to drag out the walk.  The peaceful quiet was palpable and most enjoyable.  I was in no hurry for it to end.

Seishi Bosatsu

In Shingon the 23rd of the month is recognized as a day to honor Amida Buddha.  But it is also a day to celebrate Seishi Bosatsu, a much less known bodhisattva.

In his small book, "Junishi and Guardian Dieties", Rev. and Mrs. Taisen Miyata say the following about Seishi:

"The bodhisattva Mahastanaprapta (Seishi-bosatsu), together with Kanzeon is one of the two bodhisattvas that accompany the Buddha Amitabha.  Seishi stands to the left of Amida and Kanzeon to the right.  Seishi represents the active, outward manifestation of the working of the wisdom of Buddhahood, and Kanzeon represents the love and compassion inherent in that same Buddhahood.   Seishi is usually portrayed with his hands held together, in gassho, and this represents the lotus-like heart of man which has yet to fully open up to the truth of enlightenment.  It is Seishi's resolution to aid all men to speedily attain the state of supreme wisdom.  His mantra is made up of symbolic syllables only;  it is "On san zan saku sowaka!"  (Sanskrit: Om sam jam jam sah svaha).  The two words jam represent the arising (jati) of the two types of mental hindrances, the obvious hindrance of the defilements of the passions - hatred, ignorance, greed and the very subtle hindrance of the more sophisticated philosophical mistakes.  It is Seishi's purpose in the world to remove all men's hindrances, and so make it easier for him to attain the wisdom of Nirvana."

You can find the above quote on page 12 of Rev. & Mrs. Miyata's book, "Junishi and Guardian Dieties", published in affiliation with the Koyasan Buddhist Temple, Los Angeles in 1976.

Regarding the above quote, please consider two points.  First the Japanized form of the mantra does not correspond to the Sanskrit version and therefore may be missing a second "zan" (Sanskrit: jam).  Secondly, please consider the exclusive use of the masculine terms as an artifact of the time of publication.  We are pretty sure Seishi is a symbol meant to inspire everyone.

So please don't forget Seishi on the 23rd of the month and if you are inspired, practice his mantra.  Perhaps you will be inspired, like Seishi, to help others in their path.

Kobo Daishi's Birthday

For Shingon, June 15th is considered Kobo Daishi Kukai's birthday.  In his wonderful book "Sacred Koyasan", Professor Philip Nicoloff describes the date as follows:

"Kobo Daishi was born to Lady Tamayori and Saeki Tagimi on the island of Shikoku in 774.  The precise day of birth is unknown, but later tradition selects June 15 as probable, for on that day in 774 the sixth of the eight Shingon patriarchs, Amoghavajra, died in China.  The matching of dates lends credence to the notion that Kobo Daishi was Amoghavajra's reincarnation." (SK, p. 33).

In Chapter Eleven (p. 241 - 247) of that same book, Professor Nicoloff describes the Daishi-tanjo-e, Koyasan's Daishi Nativity Ceremony in depth.  It's well worth a read.

So please mark Kukai's birthday today and if you are inspired,  chant his mantra as all students of Shingon owe a debt of gratitude to the founder for his contribution to our practice and path.

"Namu daishi henjo kongo"

Enjoy the day and please reach out to us if there is anything we can do to help you in your study of Shingon, mandalavermont@gmail.com).

jim

("Sacred Koyasan: A Pilgrimage to the Mountain Temple of Saint Kobo Daishi and the Great Sun Buddha", 2008, by Philip L. Nicoloff, published by State University Press of New York, Albany) 

Lucky 13

In Shingon the thirteenth of the month is considered a "Kokuzo Day", honoring Akasagarbha Bodhisattva.  Kokuzo is figured prominently in the Taizo-kai Mandala, his assembly is located below the hall of the mantra holders.  Kokuzo is associated with space which is unhindered and holds all things.  For a really thorough explanation of the rich symbolism and meaning of Kokuzo and his assembly, please refer to Adrian Snodgrass's "The Matrix and Diamond World Mandalas in Shingon Buddhism'.

Kokuzo is also the honzon or main object of meditation in the sadhana called the Gumonji-ho.  Kukai, Shingon's founder is said to have done three complete cycles of the Gumonji-ho, which entails chanting Kokuzo's mantra one million times per cycle.  On completing his third cycle, Shingon lore holds he had a profound enlightenment experience.  Kakuban, one of Shingon's great reformers is said to have completed eight cycles of the Gumonji-ho.  Ajari Tanaka has shared this practice with us and though demanding it is very powerful even if one is not able to practice it at the level of ancient masters.

So mark your calendar and if you are inspired, chant the Kokuzo mantra today and on the thirteenth of any month.  Ajari Tanaka has said on many occasions that if you chant the Kokuzo mantra regularly you will become very clever and your power to share the Dharma will be increased.

Here are a couple of little web resource that give a bit about Kokuzo and his mantra:

http://www.shingon.org/deities/jusanbutsu/kokuzo.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C4%80k%C4%81%C5%9Bagarbha  

And as always, if you'd like to know more about our practice and study of Shingon, please drop us a note at mandalavermont@gmail.com.

Take care,

jim

Another practice...

We had a great sangha practice again today.

A couple of long time students made the trip to my dojo and another five sangha members (both local and as far away as downstate New York and Quebec) joined via zoom.

It's great to again gather our old friends who have studied with Ajari Tanaka for so many years.

Today we practiced our dharani interspersed with silent meditation and walking.  It is a little bit of a challenging practice but many of our students are well versed in these practices so all went well.

We will take a little break from sangha practice as I am taking a vacation in Maine in late June,  but we'll be back at it by mid-July.

If your are interested in trying Shingon practice please contact us at mandalavermont@gmail.com.  We would be happy to help...

Renewing Yamabushi Training, Vermont Style

We're having a really nice dry and mild early summer here in Vermont.  Inspired by my recent trip to Japan (where I walked for hours every day), I've been getting out and hiking all the smaller mountains and hills nearby.  Mount Philo, Chipman Hill, Silver Lake, Snake Mountain and Buck Mountain are all small hills and mountains that are open for early season hiking.  Together they are a great way to get in hiking shape, to get ready for longer hikes on our bigger mountains later in the season.

Yesterday I was hiking up Buck Mountain and I remembered how Ajari Tanaka during his time here in Vermont used to hike, especially Mount Abraham.  He has described leaving his house in Lincoln on foot, walking the few miles to the trail head and then hiking the west slope of Mount Abraham to its summit.  Afterward he would hike down the southern trail to Lincoln Gap and walk the long road back home.  It was often a day long affair.  He called this his "yamabushi training".

In his youth, Ajari Tanaka spent a lot of time with his grandparents and he credits his grandfather as his first teacher.  Ajari has often said his grandfather was from a yamabushi family and introduced him to shodo, pilgrimage and dharma.  His grandparents maintained a "Fudo Myo-o" house on their property and held goma fire ceremonies there.

Ajari Tanaka invited us on his hikes periodically back in his Vermont days and also brought us to a few local waterfalls to do what he called "taki-gyo", waterfall practice.  This entailed standing or sitting under the cold water of our local rivers and chanting the Fudo Myo-o mantra while holding Fudo Myo-o mudra.  Brrrrr.

These were the practices included in his idea of yamabushi training, our local version of what he had inherited from his grandparents.  Getting out into Vermont's mountains, challenging yourself to hike every step to the summit, and then after that effort, take in the spacious view and the deep green of both wild and rural Vermont.  Then hike back down to our everyday lives with a little something special to bring back home.   Other times, he encouraged us to dunk under the bracing cold water of our local rivers, chant the mantra for as long as we could stand the cold to feel the natural invigoration of the whole experience.

It might sound a little kooky, but it was actually pretty awesome.

So this year I'm back out hiking again.  To be fair I hike every spring, summer and fall in Vermont, but never as much as I used to and certainly not as much as I usually hope.  But this year I am genuinely inspired.  I want to hike a ton and do my yamabushi training right.

So if you ever want to go for a hike and later in the summer when things really warm up, brave a local waterfall, let me know (mandalavermont@gmail.com) because this summer is a yamabushi summer.

Saturday Sangha Practice

We had a great sangha practice yesterday.  I was alone in my dojo and four long time Mandala Vermont students joined via zoom. Starting at 10 AM we opened our practice with the various mudra and mantra of the Goshinbo, moved on to sutra recitation and a period of silent meditation.  After a bit of walking meditation we did a long'ish practice of the mantras contained in the Jusan Butsu Goshingon, then a short silent meditation, closing with a dedication of merit.

Group practice is one of the real gifts Ajari Tanaka has shared with us.  A group of practitioners who have trained together for a while can really create an environment where meditation comes easily and naturally.  It's pretty great.

If you would like to learn more and try our practice please email us at mandalavermont@gmail.com.

Reconnecting After the Pandemic...

Hey all,

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.

Enmei Juku Kannon Gyo

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 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...

Thoughts and reflections shared with our sangha amid the pandemic...

Hey mandala,

With things getting more and more constrained, my attention reflexively turns to my experiences with Ajari Tanaka and all the things that he has taught us over the years.

When I first met Ajari he was doing an intensive recitation of the heat sutra.  He has said more than once that he chanted it a million times.  By my math that would take almost four years of uninterrupted practice.  Other times he told me he did it for three hours a day.  More recently, we've all experienced him producing copy after copy of the heart sutra as part of his Oshakyo (sutra copying) practice during his visits to Vermont.  When I visited him in Japan (2008), he did the same each morning, brushing three or four copies before we had breakfast.  I know Ajari has been very generous with his heart sutra copying practice and I hope you all have at least one copy in your personal collection.  It makes a wonderful object of contemplation.

But back to the main point...

Being a little stuck at home and thinking about Ajari's teachings, I've finally started to teach myself to brush the heart sutra.  To begin, I'm working on these opening phrases:

Kan ji zai bo sa

gyo jin

ha nya ha ra mi ta ji

Our text translates this as:

When the bodhisattva Avalokitesvara was practicing profound transcendental wisdom...

During my struggle to find the correct characters, the proper stroke orders and the meaning for this opening phrase I was struck by the terms "gyo jin".

"Gyo" means "to do" and "jin" means "deeply"

"Do deeply".  Just stop on that for a brief moment...

The phrase is simply saying that Avaloketesvara was deeply practicing perfect wisdom.  He was just really, really practicing.  I'm pretty sure that's exactly what Ajari has encouraged us to do all these many years.

In this chaotic time, I hope all the training you've already (deeply) done has made your practice a source of strength and stability, a touchstone that can nourish and revitalize no matter what's going on.

Take good care and I hope to see you all on the other side,

jim

Recently a student asked...

Recently a long time student of Ajari Tanaka explained that he had been recently asked by a colleague, "what is the purpose of chanting mantra?".  Further noting that they had no ready answer for that simple question, he asked me if I'd weigh in.  This is what came of that discussion:

So let's start from the ground up....

First when we chant a mantra, especially in the style that Ajari has trained us in, the first thing that one might notice is our normal stream of conceptual thought is interrupted and replaced by the mantra.  The incessant and often undisciplined/unproductive thought-stream is abruptly abandoned and replaced with neutral sound and vibration.  This might be understood as a rudimentary form of meditation in which we first experience our mind without its typical thought habits.  As this progresses, we can experience a level of concentration (facilitated by really trying to stay with the mantra during recitation enforced by whoever is leading the practice) that most of us don't regularly experience.  This is called smirti, or the re-collecting of our scattered mind.

Secondly, our style of mantra recitation is physically vigorous.  It requires lots of deep exhalation and then rapid inhalation.  Not only physically invigorating but oxygenates our system in ways that are very different from most of our normal experience and stimulates a mental sharpness we often rely on coffee to achieve.

As we learn more about the symbols of Shingon this naturally marries to the practice, enriching it with a contemplative element.  For example, this is the mantra of Fudo Myo-o, and I know he is a wrathful protector, powerful but kind, an emanation of Mahavairocana, which is none other than the entire phenomena universe, but in a form which leads even the most resistant student.  As we recite the mantra all that understanding is there even if it is not conceptually expressed during the recitation.  Through the mantra practice, we are relating directly to the symbol, with its internal and external import as all these symbols depict awakened qualities that exist within us and those naturally resident in the world around us.  This is now on top of suspending thought and the physical invigoration.  

Next, if we are lucky enough to expand our understanding to the individual mantra's meaning the contemplative/symbolic element expands greatly.  For example, the mantra of Nyoirin Kannon, Om padma cintamani jvala hum, means something like, "O the flaming jewel in the lotus hum".  The wish fulfilling jewel is the awakened mind that solves all desires, the lotus is great compassion and the flame is variously deemed to indicate energy/effort, protective defense of the awakened element and the warmth of kindness/compassion.  So not only is the mantra indicative of the particular honzon, but has a specific meaning and contains profound symbolic content in and of itself.  This is especially interesting when the mantra uses seed syllables (Om, hum, A, Ra, phat) that are multivalent and often elastic in their meaning.  A good example of this is Master Kukai's Meaning of the Syllable HUM, which when read makes it seem that nothing is not meant by the syllable HUM.  Collectively, understanding all this is an form of esoteric knowledge that enhances and deepens both the meaning, associations and significance of the practice.

But, returning to the most basic question, mantra recitation is meditation - full stop.  Its not a warm up to get you in the head space for real meditation.  Rather it is a unique form of meditation, as is sadhana practice, ajikan or sutra recitation which on their face do not seem similar to commonly understood sitting methods.

It is a path to experience your mind as it really is, directly.

In these crazy times its really nice to field these questions from our sangha and then spend time on these topics.  If you took the time to read this, I hope you found it useful.

jim

A brief look at the Diamond Sutra...

Subhuti, someone might fill innumerable worlds with the seven treasures and give all away in gifts of alms, but if any good man or any good woman awakens the thought of Enlightenment and takes even four lines from this Discourse, reciting, using, receiving, retaining and spreading them abroad and explaining them for the benefit of others, it will be far more meritorious.

(DS, p. 74)

The Diamond Sutra is not strictly a Shingon Sutra.  It is more associated with the Zen tradition.  It does not come close in significance to the Mahavairocana Sutra or the Vajrasekara Sutra, as they are the foundation of Shingon and the basis of it's mandalas.  It is not central like the Rishu-kyo's formative perspective on non-duality.  The Diamond Sutra is not even as essential as the Heart Sutra, which Kobo Daishi Kukai asserted to contain all of the Buddhist teaching, both exoteric and esoteric.

That being said, the Prajna Paramita tradition and literature had an influential effect on both the Madhyamika and Yogachara schools of thought and practice.  Kukai notes these as the sixth and seventh stages of spiritual development (KMW, p. 71-73) and as such, the foundation of the Mahayana.  Additionally, Kukai makes an interesting, albeit passing reference to the Diamond Sutra in his, "The Meaning of Sound, Word and Reality":

In a sutra, therefore it is said: "[The Buddha is he] who speaks what is true and what is real, who tells things as they are, who utters neither deceitful words nor inconsistent words."  These five kinds of speech are call mantra..."

(KMW, p. 241)

These connections to Shingon and the Prajna Paramita's place in the history of the development of Buddhist thought and practice make it worthy of exploration.

____________________________

A review of the basics and background of the Diamond Sutra is beyond the scope of this particular discussion.  But that is not to suggest that it is not relevant or worthy of pursuit.  For a workable starting point please review:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diamond_Sutra

Also if one is unfamiliar with the chief disciples of the Buddha, basic information about Subhuti, a major figure in the sutra, can be found at:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subh%C5%ABti

This discussion is specifically focused on select, and hopefully essential content within the sutra.

___________________________

As is typical of sutras, the opening begins by setting the scene and detailing those in attendance.  In this sutra, Shakyamuni Buddha has just returned to his place of rest after his morning alms gathering and has taken his meal.  Then he is approached by a senior disciple:

Now in the midst of the assembly was the Venerable Subhuti.  Forthwith he arose, uncovered his right shoulder, knelt upon his right knee, and, respectfully raising his hands with palms joined, addressed the Buddha thus:  World-honored One, it is most precious how mindful the Tathagata is of all the Bodhisattvas, protecting and instructing them so well!  World-honored One, if good men and good women seek the Consummation of Incomparable Enlightenment, by what criteria should they abide and how should they control their thoughts?

(DS, p. 24)

Subhuti's question sets the context for the entire sutra and it is none other than the pursuit of complete awakening.  This questions is what all that follows means to answer.  And in classic style, the Buddha responds:

Very good Subhuti!... Now listen and take my words to heart.

(DS, p. 24)

In the following section the Buddha begins to build his response to Subhuti's essential question:

Subhuti, all Bodhisattva Heroes should discipline their thoughts as follows:  All living creatures of whatever class, born from eggs, from wombs, from moisture, or by transformation, whether with form or without form, whether in a state of thinking or exempt from thought-necessity, or wholly beyond all though realms - all these are caused by Me to attain Unbounded Liberation Nirvana.  Yet when vast, uncountable, immeasurable numbers of beings have thus been liberated, verily no being has been liberated.

(DS, p. 26)

Setting aside the questionable classification of all the types of beings in existence, here the Buddha essentially equates his awakening with a universal awakening of all sentient life.  But then, just as quickly denies it.  The reason for this contradiction quickly follows: 

Why is this, Subhuti?  It is because no Bodhisattva who is a real Bodhisattva cherishes the idea of an ego-entity, a personality, a being, or a separated individuality.

(DS, p. 26)

Here the Buddha teaches that the core mental discipline of the Bodhisattva path is not succumbing to the fallacy of self nature but instead embracing the reality of emptiness, or shunyata.  Here is the sutra's advice on how aspiring bodhisattvas should control their thoughts.  Bodhisattvas are advised not to indulge in the error of the assumed reality of individual self-nature.

Later in the sutra, the Buddha elaborates on this, adding the quality of meditative discipline:

Therefore, Subhuti, all Bodhisattvas, lesser and great, should develop a pure, lucid mind, not depending upon sound, flavor, touch, odour or any quality.  A Bodhisattva should develop a mind which alights upon no thing whatsoever...

(DS, p. 37)

This is how aspiring bodhisattva's should abide.  Aspiring Bodhisattvas should strive to perceive without attachment, and if attachment arises, to recognize that they are necessarily cherishing "the idea of an ego-entity, a personality, a being, or a separated individuality".

This pure lucid mind that alights on no thing whatsoever, can only be developed though meditation.  And that is the core teaching of Ajari Tanaka - to develop a daily discipline of meditation.

The sutra ends with the penultimate statement, it's unambiguous core message.  In this final section, the Buddha explains to Subhuti how the message of this sutra might be shared with others purposefully and with the intended effect - their fully awakening.

In closing, the Buddha says the following:

Thus shall ye think of all this fleeting world:
A star at dawn, a bubble in a stream;
A flash of lightening in a summer cloud,
A flickering lamp, a phantom, and a dream.
(DS, p. 74) 

It is difficult to comment further...  These words feels neither deceitful nor inconsistent.  It rings true and real.  It mirrors things as they are.

In the hope that this is helpful and please enjoy the prajna paramita because if you dig in, there's a lot more.

jim

Bibliography
The Diamond Sutra and the Sutra of Hui Neng, Translated by A.F. Prince and Wong Mou-Lam, Shambhala Publications, 1969.  Abbreviated as "DS".

Kukai: Major Works, Yoshito S. Hakeda, Columbia University Press, 1972.  Abbreviated as "KMW".

An exploration of Kukai's View of Samaya

Yamasaki Sensei outlines Master Kukai's esoteric, or samaya vows as follows:

"One must never abandon the Dharma, give up the aspiration to enlightenment, be stingy with any of the teachings, or engage in any action that does not benefit sentient beings."

(SJEB, p. 57)

Yamasaki Sensei characterizes this vision of samaya as follows:

"Rather than a code of behavior, these precepts are said to describe the conditions necessary for realization of enlightenment."

(SJEB, p. 57)

Adding more specificity and context, Yamasaki Sensei continues stating:

"...these are called the samaya precepts (samaya-kai). Samaya means equality, vow, removal of obstructions, and awakening, here referring to the absolute equality of body, speech, and mind in Buddha and all living beings. "

(SJEB, p. 57)

In conclusion, Yamasaki Sensei states:

"The esoteric vows therefore embody the fundamental esoteric experience, realization of self as Buddha."

(SJEB, p. 57)

Our own daily practice text contains a recitation and contemplation entitled "Samaya-kai".

"I, a child of Mahavairocana Buddha firmly believe in his vow of great compassion.  I will abide in the pure faith of the non-duality of the Buddha and all living beings.  In order to inherit the legacy of the Buddha’s life of wisdom, I as a Bodhisattva will make a wholehearted effort to help others."

This element includes the recitation of the Samantabhadra mantra:

Om samayas tvam

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SJEB - Shingon: Japanese Esoteric Buddhism, T. Yamasaki, Shambhala Publications Inc., 1998

Ajari Tanaka's 2018 Visit Retrospective...

On what seems like yesterday, a small group of Mandala Vermont students gathered to welcome Ajari Tanaka at the Burlington Airport.

And right on schedule, he arrived and his annual visit started.

And very soon thereafter, he was safe and comfortable in his host's home.

On the mornings of Monday and Tuesday Ajari Tanaka oversaw the review of our Gumonji-ho text that we had been working on translating into English for the past three years.

On Wednesday, Thursday and Friday mornings he turned his attention to the Dhama Name Ceremony scheduled for Friday evening.

And in the evenings of Monday through Thursday, Ajari Tanaka led meditations at our Burlington Dojo for small but very grateful group of local students and one intrepid visitor.

And on Friday night five students who have made a strong connection to Ajari Tanaka and the Mandala Vermont sangha received their dharma names. 

And now the fruition of this year's visit began... 

Over the next two days, with Ajari Tanaka presiding we transmitted the Gumonji-ho to the authorized students in the sangha. At the risk of being melodramatic, it was historic for our sangha and also Buddhism in the West.

And before long, our practice and study time of the Gumonji-ho was complete. Seventeen Mandala Vermont students were authorized and trained to practice the same practice that Shingon's founder, Kobo Daishi Kukai used to discover his own enlightenment.

The only thing left was some celebration.

And then a day of relaxation, souvenir shopping and fun in Burlington.

But then the time abruptly came.

And we had to say good-bye for another year...