So it begins again...

"Yume", Dream by Ajari Jomyo Tanaka

Ajari Tanaka arrives here in Vermont tonight at just a few minutes after 9:00 PM. He will be with us for ten days and this year is devoted to finalizing a project we have been working on for three years.

Ajari Tanaka's original, Japanese language version of the Gumonji-ho

Three years ago a student of Ajari's with considerable skill in Chinese asked Ajari if she may try to translate his version of the Gumonji-ho.  Ajari agreed and the process began. After a year we had the first rough draft. We reviewed this with Ajari Tanaka and he helped us make many improvements. We spent the next year improving many of the texts elements and crafting it into a form suitable for practice. Last year we did another round of reviews with Ajari. This really helped us refine the text and produce what we believe is very close to the final version.

Mandala Vermont's English Language Version of the Gumonji-ho

Next week we will again spend a significant amount of time with Ajari Tanaka finalizing this text.  And our project will come to fruition next weekend, September 15 & 16, during which time this practice will be introduced to our sangha for the first time.  This has long been an aspiration of many of Ajari's students and we are very happy to soon be able to practice the same sadhana that Master Kukai used to gain his enlightenment.

We are very lucky indeed...

"TRAH", the seed syllable of Kokuzo Bodhisattva