Shinnyo-en (真如苑) (meaning "Borderless Garden of Truth") is a Buddhist school open to lay practitioners, from different religions or beliefs, and monks alike. Its principle teachings are based on Buddha's Mahaparinirvana Sutra. The teachings also combine elements of traditional Theravadan, Mahayanan and Vajrayan Buddhism with the teachings and practices initiated by the founder of Shinnyo en, Shinjo Ito (né Fumiaki Ito; March 28, 1906 – July 19, 1989)[1] who trained at Shingon, and his wife Tomoji Ito (née Tomoji Uchida, May 9, 1912 – August 6, 1967), the first woman in the 1,000-year history of Daigoji monastery in Kyoto to receive the rank of daisojo (大僧) as a laywoman.
Today, Shinnyo-en has more than one million followers worldwide, and temples and training centres in several countries in Asia, Europe and America. The temples are characterised by the statue of the reclining Buddha.
Central to Shinnyo-en is the belief, expressed in Buddha's Nirvana Sutra, that all beings possess a natural, unfettered purity that can respond creatively and compassionately to any situation in life.
The current head of Shinnyo-en is Her Eminence Keishu Shinso Ito (b. 1942), who holds the rank of daisojo, the highest rank in Japanese Buddhism. On October 16, 2009 she accepted an invitation from Daigo-ji monastery to officiate at a ceremony marking Great Master Shobo Rigen's 1,100th memorial.
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Shinnyo-en was established in 1936 by Shinjo Ito and his wife Tomoji Ito in the Tokyo suburb of Tachikawa. The organization was originally named Risshōkaku. In December 1935, Shinjō Ito and Tomoji Ito enshrined the image of the Mahavairochana Achala (believed to be sculpted by the renowned Buddhist Sculptor, Unkei) and they began the 30-day winter training from the beginning of the New Year in 1936. Tomoji succeeded to Reinō (the Spiritual Faculty) from her aunt on 4 February 1936. From that time, Tomoji and Shinjō began a new career together entirely devoted to religion.[1] Shinjo Ito became a Great Master Acharya in the Shingon tradition of Japanese Buddhism.
The basic organisational unit of the Shinnyo-en school is the “lineage” (Jpn. suji), which consists of a number of members linked to a “lineage parent” (Jpn. sujioya). Practitioners usually gather at the temple and training centre for prayer, meditation and training, and, if they so wish, also at home meetings.[2] The lineage as a whole often carries out civic duties in the spirit of Buddhist practice.
Shinnyo-en believes social action can create a harmonious society. Working towards this goal, it has engaged in interfaith dialogue, environmental cleaning, and disaster relief. Shinnyo-en also supports organizations such as Médecins sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders), the Red Cross Society, and the World Wildlife Fund. The cultural projects include the reconstruction of ancient musical instruments, support for the Kiyosato Museum of Photographic Arts, the excavation of ruins at Angkor Wat in Cambodia, and collecting Cambodian oral folk tales for a children’s book project. [3] (See also Press report of The Indian National Trust for Art & Cultural Heritage(INTACH))
Shinnyo-en practices a form of meditation called "sesshin" training. Sesshin (the word is composed of the two Chinese characters, “touch” and “heart”[4]) is meditation with the addition of guidance or insights given to trainees by specially trained “spiritual guides” (Jpn. reinosha).
Through meditation, practitioners can reflect on themselves and resolve to practice harmony, gratitude, kindness, and acceptance. The school teaches that one realizes his or her true potential by acting with compassion and concern for others. Therefore, practitioners are encouraged to apply in daily life the insights gained from sesshin meditation.
Shinnyo-en practitioners in pursuing the Path to Nirvana vow to abide by the Five Precepts (Pali: pañca-sīlāni) and follow the Eightfold Path. By learning to place oneself into the other person's position (or "to walk in the other person's footsteps"), one gains further understanding of how other people's behavior is often a reflection of your own behavior towards them.
Traditional ceremonies, derived from Shingon Buddhism, and many of which can be traced back to ancient Vedic and Hindu ceremonies, are an important part of the traditional Shinnyo Buddhist practice, and are used as means to purify negative energy or to express gratitude for the chance to develop through Shinnyo training. Prayers for ancestors and departed souls, such as the Lantern Floating ceremony, and O-bon (Sanskrit: Ullambana), are believed to also help cultivate kindness and compassion within practitioners.[5] Traditional fire purification ceremonies such as Homa (Sanskrit: Yajna) are performed to help practitioners overcome obstacles that hinder their spiritual progress and liberation.[6] (See also Saisho Goma ceremony and Lantern Floating ceremony).
Shinnyo-en believes art is a way to communicate universal, spiritual truth. Shinnyo-en sponsors many international cultural events to share their aesthetic philosophy.[7] In addition, Shinnyo-en has staged several concerts showcasing the drumming of the Shinnyo-en Taiko Drumming Ensemble.[8]
See also articles in the New York Times, Art Knowledge News, and the New York Sun.
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