Reclining Buddha(01 of16)
Open Image ModalThe Great Nirvana Image or "Reclining Buddha" is the central and guiding icon of Shinnyo-en, the lay Buddhist practice developed by the founder, Shinjo Ito, in the late 1940s. Shinjo Ito had achieved the highest possible rank of monastic spiritual training and the Daigoji Temple in Kyoto, the headquarters of the Shingon tradition of Buddhism which reaches back over 1,200 years. Shinjo Ito adopted the teaching and practices of Shingon for lay persons, outside the monasteries. He furthermore based his teachings on the last sutra, the Mahaparinirvana Sutra, in which the Buddha taught that enlightenment was attainable by all people. (credit:Shinnyo-en)
Oyasano Temple(02 of16)
Open Image ModalShinnyo Buddhism today has more than 1 million members, primarily in Japan, Asia, Europe and North America. Attending an eye-opening ceremony is believed to be extremely meritorious and has a deep spiritual significance that relates to a person's individual practice. (credit:Shinnyo-en)
The Re-inspiriting Ceremony(03 of16)
Open Image ModalShinnyo-en members from all over the world attended the re-inspiriting ceremony for the Nirvana Buddha image. The ceremony was also viewed live and on tape in all Shinnyo-en temples worldwide. (credit:Shinnyo-en)
Shinso Ito(04 of16)
Open Image ModalShinso Ito, Head Priest of Shinnyo-en since 1989, entering the Nirvana Hall at Oyasono, the head temple complex. (credit:Shinnyo-en)
Offering Light(05 of16)
Open Image ModalAn offering of light, representing wisdom and the Buddha's wish for all to find happiness. (credit:Shinnyo-en)
Offering Incense(06 of16)
Open Image ModalAn offering of incense, representing prayers to help make happiness a reality in the world. (credit:Shinnyo-en)
Reclining Buddha(07 of16)
Open Image ModalThe 16-foot image of the reclining Buddha was sculpted by Shinnyo-en's founder, Shinjo Ito, in 1957 and was first inspirited that year marking the beginning of Shinnyo-en as a spiritual community based on the last teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha, the Mahaparinirvana Sutra, as its central text. A second inspiriting ceremony was conducted in 1968 following additions and renovations to the head temple complex in Tachikawa, in western Tokyo prefecture. The most recent renovations and expansions of Oyasono were begun in February 2008. (credit:Shinnyo-en)
Buddhahood(08 of16)
Open Image ModalThe word shinnyo denotes both buddhahood (spiritual awakening) and the nature of reality, en in Japanese, refers to a boundless garden or open space. Shinnyo-en is a place for people to discover and develop the buddha, or awakened nature, within themselves through altruistic Buddhist practice. (credit:Shinnyo-en)
Flowers for the Buddhas(09 of16)
Open Image ModalPaper flower petals strewn during the service are an offering to the buddhas. (credit:Shinnyo-en)
Prayer Offerings(10 of16)
Open Image ModalPrayers are offered and Buddhist teachings recited before the Nirvana Image while imagining oneself in Shakyamuni Buddha's presence 2,500 years ago. (credit:Shinnyo-en)
Tools for Reflection(11 of16)
Open Image ModalShinnyo-en founder, Shinjo Ito, was always careful to emphasize that buddha images are not meant to be worshipped. Rather, they are seen as tools for reflection, reminding people that there is a beautiful potential inside themselves that can also be shaped into a buddha. (credit:Shinnyo-en)
The Rite of Shajo(12 of16)
Open Image ModalHead Priest, Shinso Ito, performs the rite of shajo to bless and symbolically purify the image and the newly-opened temple (credit:Shinnyo-en)
The Eye-Opening(13 of16)
Open Image ModalVarious kinds of eye opening ceremonies are found in spiritual traditions throughout Asia. An image is not treated as an object fit for meditation or veneration until it has been infused with blessings through a ceremony of consecration that involves symbolically opening its eyes. (credit:Shinnyo-en)
Elevate the Bodhi Mind(14 of16)
Open Image ModalThe eye opening ceremony conducted in Shinnyo Buddhism comes from the traditions of Shingon Esotericism, which the founder, Shinjo Ito, mastered at Daigoji temple in Kyoto. According to Esoteric Buddhism, spirituality contains two elements: the phenomenal (outer) and the noumenal (inner). In the case of the eye opening ceremony, the phenomenal aspect is the esoteric ritual that a master performs, which one can participate in by attending the service or by making an offering. The noumenal element has to do with how a practitioner makes daily efforts to elevate one's bodhi mind -- in other words, personal transformation and spiritual growth. (credit:Shinnyo-en)
Her Holiness Shinso Ito(15 of16)
Open Image ModalHer Holiness Shinso Ito rings a bell to awaken the buddha nature within all and to offer music to the buddhas. (credit:Shinnyo-en)
A Second and a First(16 of16)
Open Image ModalShinso Ito is the second head priest in the history of Shinnyo-en. She is the only woman Buddhist priest in more than 1,200 years to have ever conducted services at the Daigoji Temple, headquarters of Shingon Buddhism, in Kyoto. (credit:Shinnyo-en)