Jikan

I travelled up to the Betsuin this past weekend, as I have been doing the last several years about once every three months. Retreats at the Betsuin are usually based around a particular theme, such as O-Higan or the Paramitas or mandalas, or any number of Dharma-related teachings. This particular retreat was in commemoration of the establishment of the Tendai-shu in Japan, and remembrance of Dengyo Daishi, who was the monk known as Saicho, father of the Tendai school of Buddhism. We held a special service during the retreat in honor of Saicho, and of course there were meditation periods and group discussions and work practice and the normal range of spiritual activities which typically comprise a weekend retreat at the Betsuin. As always, the weekend was emotionally, psychologically and spiritually refreshing.

But this particular retreat was also different for me, for several reasons. For the first time, I had the pleasure of meeting Keisho Sensei, ie VK Leary, from the California Tendai Monastery, someone whose web site and (more recently) blog I had long read from afar, out here on the east coast. One of the original 1970’s-era American Tendai practitioners (along with Joshin Jonathan Driscoll and Daishin David Hall), Keisho Sensei has been Monshin Sensei’s guest at the Betsuin before, but this was my first personal contact with him. I am very happy to report that he is as wise and compassionate as his web site indicates, and he can be quite funny too. His association with the Betsuin is encouraging.

I also had the pleasure of meeting Reverend Jien Sekiguchi, from Japan. He is the new Assistant to the Abbot appointed to the New York Betsuin by the Tendai-shu Jigyodan (Overseas Mission Board). The presence of Jien at the Karuna Tendai Dharma Center is evidence of the support that the Tendai-shu has extended to the New York Betsuin. Moreover, Jien is now the second Assistant which the Jigyodan has sent here to work with Monshin and Shumon Sensei. His predecessor, Gojun Terada, made many friends in America and served the Betsuin well during his three years in New York, and we will all miss him. Happily, however, it is plain that Jien is just as conscientious and committed to the Betsuin as Gojun was, and already I can see that the Sangha has embraced him. He is helping to spread the Dharma in North America, and it is good to see. Welcome to America, Jien, we are happy you are here.

But perhaps the most reflective moment for me, was seeing a member of the Washington Tendai Sangha take Refuge Vows. The Dharma-name given to him by Monshin Sensei was Jikan, which we are told can be translated as “Vast Compassion.” People who have joined our small Sangha come in two varieties: those whose encounter with the Dharma is all-new, and those who come to us with some previous Buddhist affiliation. Such was the case with Jikan, who before our Sangha was formerly associated with one of the Tibetan schools. As I sat on the sidelines and watched Monshin administer the Refuge Vows, I was able to reflect upon my own Refuge ceremony several years ago, and the challenging vows which I heard repeated on the first night of the retreat.

On Saturday afternoon, when we returned from the walking meditation to the falls and back, we stopped before the statue of Saicho next to the Hondo. The statue was donated to the Betsuin by Shigeyuki and Risa Ito, President of the Seiko Corporation and his wife, who are Sangha members of Shinryoin (Tendai) Temple in Tokyo. The plaque before the statue cites the fact that almost all of the principal founders of Japanese Buddhism—Dogen and Eisai and Honen and Shinran and even Nichiren— all first studied the Dharma as students of the Tendai school on Hiei-zan, which Saicho inaugurated more than 1,200 years ago. Think about that— all of the Japanese Zen and Pure Land Buddhists, and the Nichiren shu and even Soka Gakkai Buddhists, as well as all of the Tendai Buddhists, trace their Dharma lineage back in time through this man. Considering the fact that all of these Dharma-streams are now flowing far beyond Japan and all over the world, it seems to me that this is plain evidence of Saicho’s powerful karma and awesome legacy. Dengyo Daishi was a Dharma-vector, not only for Japan, but in our time for the whole world as well.

Given the inspirational teachers who led the retreat and took part in it, and the significant historical anniversary over which it was held, I’d say that Jikan took his Refuge Vows on a particularly auspicious date. Not too shabby, Jikan. Gambatte!