KOSEI SHUGENDO

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Kosei Shugendo is the religious name for our community; Kosei translates as "bright attainment." We are dedicated to the spirit of this name, supporting one another on the path of planting Shugendo teachings around the world. 

Today in Japan there are a number of Shugendo traditions, some tied to esoteric Buddhist lineages and others reconstructed as independent sects. The heart of our curriculum is Ein Horyu, the major Tozan (Shingon) stream of Shugendo practices. This complete system includes seven major deity practices and many other assorted rituals, goma, saito goma, mountain entry, and more. Two of our directors are Ein Horyu Shugendo ajari; they have received denbo kanjo and additionally full transmission of the Ein lineage.

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Please read below to learn more about what our members study.

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NEW MEMBERS: FOUNDATIONAL PRACTICES

New members begin by practing Shugendo Gongyo, the daily recitation ceremony, which imparts a number of important texts and mantra. This initial training should initially be done for 100 days as a foundation. Part of the daily practice for beginners includes an accumulation of the following over that time:

- 1000 Heart Sutra Recitations

- 1000 Prostrations with Recitation Dedicated to the Shugendo Founder: NAMU JINPEN DAIBOSATSU

- 100,000 Recitations of the Fudo Jikushu Mantra

Details of these practices are imparted during attendance at your first event with us, or online through periodic denju (teaching) open to ISA members only.

 

After these preliminaries have been completed, our curriculum is divided into two divisions: lay and ordained.
 

LAY PRACTICES

Lay practitioners go on to study a collection of profound practices useful in daily life, and may participate in Mountain Training and other events. If you wish to study primarily for your own fulfillment and self-development, the lay path is entirely sufficient. Study includes:

- Receiving of the the Five Lay Precepts

- Basic Cleansing Ritual
- Rituals for Eating and Segaki (hungry ghost) Offering 

- Mokuyoku Saho (cold water ablution practice)

- Kuji Saho ("9 cuts" practice for protection)

- Mantra and Recitation Practices of Various Deities

- Gachirinkan (moon disk meditation)

- Rituals for Use When Walking and Practicing in Nature

- Takigyo (waterfall training)
- Mountain Training Participation

- And more

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ORDAINED PRACTICES

Persons demonstrating commitment to practice and mastery of all lay practices, with regular attendance at Mountain Training and other events, may be invited to receive tokudo: ordination as a Shugendo priest. This grants access to study of Ein Horyu teachings, and potentially to the series of empowerments culminating in denbo kanjo and eventually inheritance of the lineage.

 

Note that the ordained path requires a greater commitment to in-person training with us. It will also require you to obtain more formal yamabushi clothing, and various ritual tools (for example, the items needed to conduct goma) to fully practice what you will learn. But if you wish to practice advanced ritual, and especially to conduct prayers for the benefit of others, then the ordained path may be appropriate for you. Along with a deeper study of the lay practices, additional study includes:

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- Receiving of the Ten Precepts

- Goshinbo (mantra and mudra for purification and defense)

- Ajikan (meditation on the Sanskrit letter 'A')
- The 7 Major Deity Practices

- Goma (fire ritual)
- Practices of Many Other Deities

- Assorted Practices, such as the Marishiten Whip Ritual (a wrathful protective practice)

- Mountain Training Ritual Study and Leader Training

- Saito Goma (large fire ritual)
- And more

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REGARDING KEGYO: INTENSIVE TRAINING AFTER ORDINATION

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After ordination one may begin to learn advanced practices. This study requires periods of intense ascetic practice called kegyo. Kegyo is conducted at one of our North American centers.

 

During kegyo, denju (teaching) is given, and the trainee then undertakes dedicated practice of the ritual being studied within a monastic environment and schedule. Generally, the kegyo period of a specific ritual lasts one week. It may also be possible with some rituals to undertake an initial weekend kegyo followed by a period of home practice. A final weekend kegyo is then done, during which the practice is tested and confirmed.

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