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. Our curriculum draws upon practices received by our Sho-sendatsu from Japanese masters, and includes teachings from both Shingon and Tendai Shugendo traditions. The flavor of our curriculum may be described as practical, emphasizing extremely direct and effective methods. It focuses especially on practices connected to wrathful Buddhist figures - such as Fudo and the other Godai Myo-o, and Marishiten - that are especially useful for meeting modern challenges.

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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)

- Marishiten Ongyo-ho (invisibility practice)
- Many Other 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 additional and more advanced study.

 

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 many of the lay practices, additional study includes:

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- Receiving of the Ten Precepts

- Goshinbo (mantra and mudra for purification and defense)

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

- Ajikan (meditation on the Sanskrit letter 'A')
- Goma (fire ritual) of Fudo Myo-o
- Practices of the Godai Myo-o, Zao Gongen, and Many Other Deities

- Marishiten Whip Ritual (wrathful protective practice)

- Mountain Training Ritual Study and Leader Training

- Saito Goma (large fire ritual)
- Hashiramoto Shinpo (a profound practice imparting the inner teachings of Shugendo)
- And more

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REGARDING KEGYO: INTENSIVE TRAINING AFTER ORDINATION

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After ordination one may begin to learn goma and other advanced practices. This study requires weekend-long 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 study of a particular ritual requires 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.

 

Persons able to undertake full week or longer kegyo periods may also be permitted to do so, thus providing a more immersive and transformative training.

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