The Matrix of Practice
— The
Matrix of Practice
Dengyo Daishi once wrote, "A devout believer in the Buddha's Law who is also a wise man is truly obliged to point out to his students any false doctrines, even though they are principles of his own sect. He must not lead the students astray. If, on the other hand, he finds a correct doctrine, even though it is a principle of another sect he should adopt and transmit it." Because of this Tendai has always been diverse in its practices, adaptations and this shows in the many lineages found within the Sect.
When Tasogare Shinju came
to the United States to inaugurate the Compassionate Lotus lineage in the West,
of which Hongaku (本覚) Jōdo
(浄土) is the Western lineage assembly,
he had the Bodhisattva Vows in mind, especially the one that challenges us to
master all Dharmas. This may be the motivation for maintaining
such a wide array of undertakings within the Tendai sect. It is because of the
determination to offer practices benefiting people of radically diverse karmas,
objectives, and propensities in their individual pursuits of Enlightenment.
Below are listed separately in no order of importance, just a few of the
practices found within the scope of Tendai. There are many more, but these seem
to stand out.
Even when listed individually these practices are actually interwoven
and are to be executed in innumerable blends and at different junctures during
the practitioner’s spiritual vocation:
- Actively, dynamically and
enthusiastically practicing harmony with other sects and religions
- Many
of fail at this one from the start
- That is why it is listed first
- Academic study of all religious subjects contained within Buddhism
- Amida / Amitabha veneration and the Pure Land practices
- Artistic projects such as
painting or sculpting
- Ascetic practices such as
periodic fasting, marathons of walking
- Calligraphy - particularly
the Heart Sutra
- Developing gratitude, loving kindness, friendliness,
and compassion towards all living beings — beginning with yourself
- Developing a healthy
vegetarian regime (shojin ryori)
- Or at
least, mainly vegetarian while respecting the animal that provides
nourishment
- Development of skillful means
(upaya)
- Expounding the teachings of Śākyamuni Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama) to willing listeners
- Fire Rituals such as goma (homa in Sanskrit) and the
Invocation of Fudo Myo-o
- Formal Teacher-Pupil relationships which is the transmission of the Dharma
- Generating Bodhicitta and
making vows for the benefit of all sentient beings without exception
- Half-Sitting and
Half-Walking Samadhi
- Mahāmudrā practice (makabodara)
- Mantra
is the “Mantra of Light”: On abokya beiroshanō makabodara mani handoma
jimbara harabaritaya un
- Maintaining the Samaya (sanmaya-kai)
- Maintaining the Ten (10) Major and Forty-eight (48) Minor Precepts of the Mahāyāna
- Practice the perfection of
the paramitas
- You
may choose between the
- Pāli
Canon’s Ten Perfections or
- The Mahāyāna Six Perfections
- Make pilgrimages to temples, monasteries and sacred sites
- Making offerings to the people, such as donations to food banks, homeless shelters, clothing banks, etc.
- Offering healing ceremonies
- There
are many besides the usual Medicine Buddha sadhanas
- Organizing convocations to
deliberate on the Dharma
- Performing Priestly Services Such as Weddings and Funerals
- Upholding and teaching the
Lotus Sutra and other Dharmas
- Protecting Mt. Hiei and
local sacred places as wildlife refuges
- Providing the circumstance
for people to live, study, and practice the
Buddha's way in harmony with their unique abilities - Purifications, cold-water cleansings
and prostrations
- Recitation of Sutras and
Dharanis
- Relinquishment of personal
desires and practicing ahimsa (harmlessness)
- Buddhism
is a practice of renunciation
- Repetition of mantras
- Samadhi
- Through concentration using an object
- Through choiceless awareness while avoiding choiceless distraction
- Also called Jhāna or Dhyana practice
- Shikan (chich-kuan) meditation (samatha-vipassana)
- Singing and chanting
- Sitting-only samadhi
- Sustaining temples as places where people can freely make offerings,
Pray, Meditate, Chant, Study and Celebrate - Visiting hospitals, rest
homes, schools, etc.
- Visualizations of mandalas
and other esoteric practices
- Walking-only samadhi
The Tendai sect is tremendously wide-ranging in possibility of lineage
and practice. The priests and lay practitioners are exposed to essentially all
the components. Because of individual proclivities each is inclined to
indulgence in a specialization of some kind, a limited number of practices they
have an attraction to. The diverse lineages or schools and diversity of persons
within Tendai will have “friendly” disagreements with each other over the true
nature of the Dharma, lineage and practice.
One need not believe every feature of Tendai, not even of your own
lineage, school or teacher. Tendai is a Mahāyāna tradition and takes seriously
Shakyamuni Buddha’s final instructions to the Sangha: "Work out your own
comprehension with persistence!" It has been so for 2500 years, passed
from teacher to student with assiduousness. This is advice that anyone who hopes to be
happier, calmer and more free can gladly follow. It makes you fully responsible for your own happiness, realizations and liberation. It means that you are the matrix of practice.
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