Shingyo Dojo
I am very happy to be standing here today as a fully ordained
Nichiren Shu minister. Of course, I could not be here if it were
not for my sensei, the Ven. Ryusho Matsuda, and if not for all of
you and your support and encouragement. Strangely, only now that
I have returned from Shingyo Dojo, having completed the training,
can I really appreciate what a risk it was for my sensei to take
me on as his disciple and to trust that I would be able to do
what needed to be done.
Getting through the training at Shingyo Dojo was truly one of the
most difficult things that I have ever done up to this point in
my life. In fact, at the end of Shingyo Dojo, Rev. Shindo, the
headmaster, asked Michael Faulconer, Will Warner, and myself
which we considered harder - our previous military experience in
the Navy or Shingyo Dojo. For those of you who may not know,
Michael Faulconer had been an enlisted man in the Navy and had
gone through Navy bootcamp, Will Warner was an aviation officer
in the Navy and had gone through Officer Cadet School where they
use Marine Corps drill instructors. I had taken the easy route
through NROTC and was an officer aboard a guided missile frigate
in Long Beach after graduating college. In any case, all three of
us quickly agreed that Shingyo Dojo was much harder than the
military. In the military you may have to do a lot of push-ups,
but in Shingyo Dojo you are in almost constant pain due to
sitting in seiza for just about everything - services,
lectures, meals, etc... This is in addition to all of the other
rigors and discomforts of the program. I would definately say
that getting through Shingyo Dojo demands great sincerity and
dedication. I do not think that anyone can get through it with a
half-hearted attitude.
Shingyo Dojo, at least for me, was also just as rewarding as it
was painful. In fact, if it weren’t for sitting in seiza,
just about everything that we did I would have found extremely
enjoyable. Even with seiza, I was still able to deeply
appreciate what I was able to do and experience there. I have
many memories that I will cherish forever. For instance, every
day we got up before dawn and marched up to Kuonji chanting
Odaimoku to the rhythm of the hand taikos. Every morning we
participated in the morning service at Kuonji led by Archbishop
Fuji. Every morning we chanted a section of the Lotus Sutra,
so that by the end of Shingyo Dojo we had recited the entire
sutra from beginning to end. I wish I could share with you what
it was like to have been able to be a part of that.
There was also the time we hiked to the top of Mt. Shichimen and
stayed at the large lodging temple there overnight - the
Shichimensan Keishinin. The next day we all greeted the dawn with
Odaimoku. It was a rare clear day and we had a totally
unobstructed view as the sun rose over the peaks just to the
north of Mt. Fuji.
For me, a very special occasion was getting the chance to learn
about Shodaigyo from Rev. Gondo, who was the direct disciple of
Bishop Nichijun Yukawa who began the practice of Shodaigyo at
Seichoji Temple in 1957. Shodaigyo has always impressed me as one
of the most powerful spiritual practices that I have ever
encountered since I was introduced to it by Rev. Fujiwara at the
Los Angeles Temple back in 1990. So I can not even tell you how
happy I was to meet and learn more about it directly from the
source.
I will also never forget the two occasions where Michael
Faulconer, Will Warner, and I were able to meet and talk with
Archbishop Nichiko Fuji, the current head priest of Kuonji Temple
at Mt. Minobu. We were all very touched by his warmth and
encouragement. He was genuinely happy that the three of us were
there and he specifically commissioned us to do our best to
spread the Odaimoku in the United States. I would love to spend
more time telling you about that and all of the other
unforgettable experiences that I had, but I don’t want to
try your patience.
Before I finish, I want to admit that my motivation for becoming
a priest may have been selfish. I was not concerned about being a
priest so that I could lead a congregation or take over a temple
or set myself up as a teacher. I simply wanted to learn as much
as I could about Nichiren Shonin and the Lotus Sutra
from my sensei, the Ven. Ryusho Matsuda. I wanted to learn how to
deepen my practice and understanding for myself and I did not
really believe that what I did would matter much to anyone else
other than to me and my sensei. I think I believed that it would
be a small thing of no consequence to anyone outside of the
members of this temple if I were to become a priest. Since that
time, I have come to realize that being a priest is a grave
responsibility. It is a responsibility to receive and keep,
cherish, uphold, and pass on the Wonderful Dharma of the
Lotus Flower Teaching to all sentient beings. Just training
with my sensei and with all of you here in San Jose has shown me
that. I have seen that what I do, what each of us does, has an
impact that really has no boundaries. At Shingyo Dojo, Michael
Faulconer, Will Warner and I were especially impressed by the
great hopes that everyone seemed to have for us -- the other
students, the senseis, and most especially, Archbishop Nichiko
Fuji. A lot is expected of us, much more than I could have
imagined. I am sure that I can speak for Ryuoh and Shinkyo as
well as myself in saying, we will do our best to live up to those
expectations, and with your continued support and encouragement
and through faith in the Lotus Sutra and Nichiren
Shonin’s teachings I am sure that all of us will be able to
accomplish the most important mission of all -- to widely declare
and spread the Wonderful Dharma of the Lotus Flower Teaching.
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