En the Ascetic is Banished

En the Ascetic is Banished June 26, 2016

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Way back when I was first studying Zen in the San Francisco Bay Area I met the leader of a group called the Kalias Shugendo. If even if a fraction of his claims were true, he led an amazing life. Of course, it has occurred to me that he could have been a fabulist start to finish. Even in those days when I tended to believe anything anyone claimed about themselves, he felt a little off. For example I noticed all his references to being in Tibet, along with allusions to connections to the CIA, and miscellaneous accounts of daring-do lacked specificity of any sort. That seemed strange. Today I would take it as several red flags.

Among many other things he claimed to be the American representative of the Yamabushi which I gather means “one who prostrates himself on the mountain.” It is a syncretistic Japanese sect connected to Buddhism, but with gigantic dollops of Shinto and even Daoism. Now, what gives me pause as far as the ajari, to use the title he preferred when referencing his Shugendo connections was that there seemed to be some legitimate mapping of his practices and what I’ve later read of the actual Japanese sect. And, we’re talking the late nineteen sixties, when such information was not all that easy to obtain. So, for me, a bit of uncertainty…

Whatever, the person generally considered the founder of the Japanese sect, En the Ascetic, Enno Gyoja was officially banished on this day in 699, giving us the only certain date of his life. Originally an apothecary, he retired to the mountains and to various ascetic practices associated with the Japanese variations on the Vajrayana, and as I mentioned along with liberal doses of Shinto and Daoism. He became renowned for his magical powers. According to one historical source he “was able to manipulate demonic spirits, making them draw water and gather firewood. When they disobeyed, he bound them using sorcery.”

According to the Wikipedia article Shugendo “is a highly syncretic religion that originated in Heian Japan in which enlightenment is equated with attaining oneness with the kami (神?). This perception of experiential ‘awakening’ is obtained through the understanding of the relationship between humanity and nature, centered on an ascetic, mountain-dwelling practice. The focus or goal of Shugendō is the development of spiritual experience and power. Having backgrounds in mountain worship, Shugendō incorporated beliefs or philosophies from early Japanese religious beliefs, Taoism and esoteric Buddhism. The 7th century ascetic and mystic En no Gyōja is often considered as having first organized Shugendō as a doctrine. Shugendō literally means ‘the path of training and testing’ or ‘the way to spiritual power through discipline.'”

And, of course, today is far away from the nineteen sixties. The world has shrunk and it is now possible to know a lot more about the sect, its teachings, and its practices. For instance, here. A google search can be quite revealing. And, if you’re interested a tour through Youtube…


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