Welcome

Welcome To Tendai Buddhism International -from Monshin Paul Naamon, Secretary General North American District

Traveling from the West to East Tendai brought a vibrant form of Buddhism to Japan. Established in Japan by Dengyo Daishi over 1200 years ago, Tendai teachings thrived, becoming an important influence in spiritual realization and influence.  Mount Hiei and Enryaku-ji are known as the underpinning of Buddhism in Japan today. Within the last few years Japanese Tendai has approved temples, centers and sangha outside of Japan. 

This web site is intended to provide information about Tendai outside Japan and provide links to the authorized sangha that have been established. There are links to the Japanese Tendai websites as well, some in English and some in Japanese.

We welcome you to explore this site, find out more about Tendai Buddhism outside Japan, and become familiar with the many opportunities for the study and practice of this profound and gratifying spiritual path.

What's New

News

16 March, 2011
Update on Japanese Disaster
A report and response

 Dear Sangha and Friends,

We received a brief e-mail from Ichishima-sensei on Monday letting us know that his family and our friends nearby are just fine. The main Buddha image at Tamonin temple, Amida Nyorai, cracked as a result of the quake and there is minor damage to several buildings, but everything can be repaired. Sensei reported that Yamada-sensei and everyone at Chusonji Temple, in Iwate prefecture, came through relatively unscathed. 

The most recent information I have from members of the East Asian Anthropology Listserve in Japan is not as upbeat. In the Kanto (Tokyo, Chiba, Ibaraki, etc.) area the electricity is still on rolling blackouts, but the telephone service is back. However, there is very little gasoline and the trains, the major form of transportation, are not running on regular schedules. Sensei reports that this has meant that daily activities (school, work, funerals) have been curtailed.

The biggest problem in the most heavily hit areas is that tens of thousands of people have lost their houses and all of their belongings. Because the infrastructure has been destroyed food and shelter are in short supply. Not because it is not available, Japan is after all a relatively rich country, it just cannot be delivered. Then there are hundreds of thousands of people who have been evacuated in Fukushima due to the tenuous situation with the nuclear reactors. These people are living in the equivalent to tent cities, school gymnasiums, temple gathering rooms, etc. Altogether, there are somewhere around half a million people that have either been evacuated, or have lost their homes in the earthquake and tsunami.

The gravity of the situation - at least in my mind - is epitomized by the Japanese Emperor's public address on the disaster. It is not so much what Emperor Akihito said. This is the first time in history that a Japanese Emperor made a public address on television. You can see an excerpt of the address at: http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/03/16/japan.disaster/index.html.

Prime Minister Kan has stated that the quake, tsunami and the nuclear reactor threat constitute the greatest tragedy in Japan since World War II. When I asked Ichishima-sensei how we might help immediately he responded, 'right now your thoughts and prayers are what we need.' When Shumon and I conducted the daily service on Sunday we chanted the 25th chapter of the Lotus Sutra. This is the chapter of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, the bodhisattva of compassion. Chanting this chapter helped sooth my spirit.

The general consensus on the East Asian Listserve is that we can best assist the Japanese people materially in the short term by donating our money to two organizations. The First is the Red Cross. They have a website in which you can donate money online. Go to http://www.redcross.org/ and click on Donate Now on the first page that will give you the opportunity to have your donation given specifically to the Japan Red Cross. The second is Japanese NGO that is currently on the ground, deep in the affected areas, providing meals and our assistance in Tohoku. The web site for this organization in English is http://www.jen-npo.org/en/. You will be able to use a credit card for donations. Additionally, you can go to our web site, Tendai.org, and make a payment on PayPal, and we will ensure that the money goes directly to the relief effort. Be sure to note that the PayPal money is directed to the Japanese disaster fund.

Finally, we will be conducting a service for all the victims of this natural and human created disaster this evening during our regular Wednesday evening meditation service. Our discussion will center on the disaster and our reactions to it at 6 PM, followed by the service at 6:45 and finishing with a pot-luck dinner. I hope to see many of you this evening. Be well. 
 
Gassho . . .

Monshin and Shumon
 

October 23, 2010  Tendai Buddhist Institute, Canaan, NY  Fifth Anniversary of the Hondo, Fifteenth Anniversary of Karuna Tendai Dharma Center, Tokudo Ordination

Thirty monks will be traveling from Japan to the Tendai Buddhist Institute, Tendai-shu New York Betsuin, in Canaan, NY for a Fifth Anniversary observance and ordination ceremony.

10:30 AM event at the Tendai Buddhist Institute is an observance of the consecration of our hondo, Jiunzan Tendai-ji  (the main temple building, translated as Compassionate Mountain Cloud Tendai Temple) five years ago, as well as the fifteenth anniversary of the founding of Karuna Tendai Dharma Center, the official name of Tendai Buddhist Institute, the Tendai-shu New York Betsuin (the authorized New York Branch of Enryaku-ji Temple).

This ceremony will be performed by Kanda-sensei of Kanei-ji, the head temple in Tokyo, Japan

12:00 noon Lunch will be provided for all.

1 PM Formal Tokudo (ordination) of six Betsuin Soryo and Doshu, namely Seishin Fitterer, Ryushin Karapasas, Shoshin Jacon, Mushin Press, Shomon Trans and Koyo Spang.

All of these people have completed at least six years of formal training and have received Tokudo as Betsuin priests in the past.

A formal Tokudo requires a number of priests of a certain status to witness the Tokudo in order to be registered in Japan.  Because we will have a number of highly ranked priests here for the other activities it is a good time for these six people to be recognized for their many contributions to the Dharma. The Precept Master for the Tokudo ceremony will again be Kanda-sensei.

 

October 24, 2010   125th Anniversary of the Tendai Ordination of William Sturgis Bigelow and Ernest Fenollosa, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA

A commemoration of the 125th anniversary of the ordination of William Sturgis Bigelow and Ernest Fenollosa, the founder and first curator of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, respectively. These two individuals are the first North Americans to receive Tendai Buddhist ordination. Both of these persons were remarkable people who had accomplished a great deal in addition to their ordinations.

 11:30 AM A short lecture and shomyo (a type of chanting similar to Gregorian chant) presentation in the museum and then we will go outside for a Goma ritual conducted by a dignitary of Enryaku-ji temple, Mt. Hiei, Japan. The goma ceremony should be concluded by about 2:30 PM. Visit the Museum site for more information: http://www.mfa.org/calendar/event.asp?eventkey=44194

April 1 - June 1, 2010  Teachings of Tendai: Contemporary Buddhist Calligraphy from Enryakuji, University of California, Berkley
Twenty-three pieces of sacred calligraphy created by eminent Tendai monks between 2002 - 2007 will be on display. Included are abbots of famous temples, abbots of royal ancestry (monzeki), and the spiritual head of Tendai Buddhism, the Zasu Most Venerable Kojun Handa.  Each has contributed one work to the collection. The exhibit is held at the Institute of East Asian Studies Gallery, 2223 Fulton St., 6th floor, Berkeley, and is open daily from 9 am to 5 pm. Contact Caverlee Cary for more information: ccary@berkeley.edu

April 23, 2010   Tendai Buddhist Studies and Arts Symposium, University of California, Berkeley

This one-day event begins in the morning with an introduction by Prof. Duncan Williams (UC Berkeley). The keynote lecture will be given by Prof. Shoshin Ichishima (Taisho Unversity) on “The Integration of Sutra and Tantra at Mount Hiei”, followed by a lecture by Prof. Paul Groner (University Virginia, author of Saicho and Ryogen) on “The Training and Education of Tendai Monks”, and a lecture by Professor Hodo Shioiri (Taisho University), on “Sanno Ichijutsu Shinto of Tendai Buddhism”. The morning session is sponsored by the Center for Japanese Studies.

The afternoon session will be introduced by Ven. Monshin Paul Naamon (Tendai Buddhist Institute).  Prof. John Stevens (Tohoku Fukushi University, author of Sacred Calligraphy of the East and The Marathon Monks of Mt. Hiei) will give a talk on “An lllustrated History of Tendai Calligraphy”.  Prof. Elizabeth ten Grotenhuis (Boston University, author of Japanese Mandalas: Representations of Sacred Geography) will speak on “Entering the Pureland at a Tendai Temple – Seigantoji at  Nachi” . Ven. Senkei Shibayama (vice-chair of Tendai Calligraphy Association and author of Saicho no Sho) will give a talk “About the Exhibit”. The afternoon will conclude with a demonstration of Tendai calligraphy given by Ven. Shibayama assisted by 2 other calligraphers. The afternoon session is sponsored by the Institute of East Asian Studies.

April 24, 2010   Hoshu-In, California Tendai Monastery, Cobb, CA

Rakkei shiki ceremony celebrating the new temple. See www.caltendai.org/index.html for more information


June 18, 2008

The Director of the Tendai International Affairs Department has announced that the Tendai Buddhist Administration Headquarters is appointing Rev. Monshin Paul Naamon Secretary General of the newly-minted Tendai-shu North America District.  He will serve as Secretary Generalfor the remainder of Reverend Korei Hamanaka's term as Secretary General of the Tendai Buddhist Administration. You may view the original announcement (in Japanese) here and in English here.

Posted by admin on Thursday, 07-Aug-2008 19:05 PM