February 15th

February 15th was the anniversary of Shakamuni Buddha's passing. This date is know as his Parinirvana, the anniversary of his leaving this world without residue.

Fortunately it fell on a Thursday so our Sangha could observe it on the precise date.

As is our norm, we gathered at the home of our dear friends in Burlington who host our Burlington Dojo. This dojo houses almost all of the art, altar furniture and ritual objects that Ajari Tanaka gifted us when he moved from Vermont back to Japan. Though it is small, it is also elegant and represents much of what Ajari has transmitted.

We began out practice with the Goshinbo, and then repeated the Shakamuni Gohogo 108 times. We followed with a prayer that honors the Buddha's relics. Then we sat in Susoku-kan - a simple meditation that hearkens back to the origins of Buddhist meditation. After resting this way for a good while, we recited the Shakamuni mantra 108 times, finishing by dedicating the merit of our practice.

In preparation for this date, I had re-read the Mahaparinibbana Sutta. This sutra documents the Buddha's final days and his passing. And after our practice I spoke briefly about one of the most challenging teachings in the sutra. In these passages Shakamuni's long time attendant Ananda does not catch an indirect  request posed by the Buddha and leads to dire consequences. Student, teacher and history suffer because of the lapse of the student's mindfulness and awareness.

We used this teaching to reflected on what we all might have missed in our training thus far with Ajari Tanaka. As well as what we might be missing in our lives because we just weren't paying sufficient attention.

For me it helped to refocus on what is most important in my effort to help Ajari make Shingon available to interested students.

The event was pretty special and I am grateful for the small group that gathered to observe it. Reviewing the sutra reminded me that it was the first sutra that Ajari Tanaka said we should study.

It also reminded me how much I am looking forward to his next visit.

And when he's back, I hope you all can join us...