KEN IGE / KIGE@STARBULLETIN.COM Shingon Buddhism's openness and accessibility sets it apart from other traditions, says Reyn Tsuru, executive director of the Shingon Mission on Sheridan Street.

Shingon Buddhists celebrate
their 100th anniversary with an
exhibit of sacred art treasures

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By Mary Adamski
madamski@starbulletin.com

Shingon Buddhists in Hawaii will celebrate their 100th anniversary in the same spirit as the open-door policy at the Sheridan Street Shingon temple.

An 70-day exhibit of sacred art treasures from the sect's Koyasan headquarters in Japan will open Sept. 1 at the Honolulu Academy of Arts, free for the first six days. And the special religious ritual of Kechien Kanjo, a highlight of the anniversary festivities seldom seen outside Japan, will be opened to participation by outsiders.

Plans for the celebration started as a memorial to the minister who built the first teaching hall for plantation workers in Lahaina in 1902. But they evolved into "an interfaith peace prayer service," said Reyn Tsuru, executive director of the Shingon Shu Hawaii Betsuin.

It's also an opportunity for the 15 Shingon temples here to expose their branch of Buddhism, one of the oldest in Japan, to Hawaii residents. Due to the fact that most of the first immigrants came here from western Japan where Honpa Hongwanji was strongest, that school of Buddhism was planted first and became the biggest here.

Shingon, which is described as esoteric Buddhism, contains "a tradition of mysticism, symbolism and rituals, a lot of pageantry and color that appealed to the ancient Japanese and is still part of court rituals," said Buddhist scholar Al Bloom.

"It's the sort of expression that encourages art and has a lot of influence in art and literature," Bloom said. Reverence for ninth-century Shingon founder Kobo Daishi distinguishes this branch from others. Daishi was also a Japanese cultural icon as a writer and creator of a simple writing system that commoners could read.

An oil painting of Daishi by local member Helen Abe stands amid the glittering golden images on the altar of the Sheridan Street temple. When it was built in 1917, the high-beamed wooden structure stood in an orchard. It was recently listed on the National Register of Historic Buildings.

It is the sect's tradition of healing prayers and rituals that draws hundreds of non-Buddhists to the Shingon Mission each year, along with Buddhists of other traditions who seek the blessing of Bishop Taido Kitagawa and other ministers.

"Our openness and accessibility is what is special about us," said Tsuru, one of many young lay members active in the Sheridan Street mission. Their efforts this week focused on the bon dance, which continues tonight.

"We love to offer sanctuary."

All Buddhism has the aspect of honoring ancestors, he said.

"What we teach is more centered on you. If you're not happy, you cannot achieve compassion and tolerance, the traits we should exercise every day."

Seeking that personal wholeness is where the healing aspect comes in, Tsuru said.

"People who come here for healing are expressing their faith."

Connection with a minister "is simply strengthening your own inner spirit," he said. "Through meditation and recitation of the sutras -- scriptures -- you can heal yourself."

Meditation is a key practice "to find balance within yourself," Tsuru said.

"Kobo Daishi taught that faith is important but religion doesn't matter. If you exercise tolerance and compassion every day ... you can gain insight into yourself and can become a religious spirit."

Tsuru said that every temple service includes explanation of the rituals, and the sutras are translated into different languages, following the theme of openness.

The Kechien Kanjo ritual during anniversary ceremonies Aug. 31 through Sept. 2 at the Neal Blaisdell Center Exhibition Hall will be open "to anyone wishing to make a connection to Buddha and has a sincere heart."

Each participant will toss a pine sprig onto a mandala, a painting representing the spiritual universe with all the manifestations of Buddha depicted in a pattern. Whichever image it lands on is considered the guardian spirit for that individual, Tsuru explained, and information on each spirit will be provided.

Boxes of soil from the 88 temples of Japan's Shikoku island will be laid out in an exhibit that will allow local people to re-create the traditional pilgrimage, stepping on the ground of each shrine. The pilgrimage is usually made by people seeking healing.

The Shingon headquarters in Koyasan, Japan, has loaned 130 pieces of art, including statues, mandala and artifacts of historical Japan royalty, for the "Sacred Treasures of Mount Koya" exhibit Sept. 1 through Nov. 10 at the Honolulu Academy of Arts.

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