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 Westerly view from the front of the Kondo (Golden Hall), Koyasan, Japan. The tower to the left is the Six-Sided Sutra Repository. The main headquarters of Koyasan Shingon-shu is located at Koyasan (Mount Koya) in Wakayama prefecture, Japan on a mountain that is 900 meters (2500 feet) high. The mountain is called the "Eight Petalled Peak" as well as our "Parent Mountain." In an environment filled with spiritual feeling, the main pagoda towers among the great cryptomeria and cypress trees. This is a sacred place unparalleled in the world, and is filled with the power and grace of Kobo Daishi whom we look upon as the founder of our religion. Kongobu-ji, the name of the main headquaters temple, was given by Kobo Daishi as the general name for the mountain temple. The three characters for "Kon-go-bu" (Vajra Peak) are taken from the title of the Kongoburokakuyugi-kyo, the "Sutra of the Spiritual Practitioners of the Tower on Vajra Peak," to form the name of the temple. The peak is the "Eight Petalled Peak," and it is a place for engaging in the practices explained in the Kongocho-kyo, a basic scripture for Shingon Buddhism. Kobo Daishi also had the idea of establishing on this mountain the pure land described in this sutra. It was from this idea that Koyasan became the basic place of practice for Shingon Esoteric Buddhism and it has continued to this day for the sake of spreading the faith that forms the foundation on which the hearts and minds of people may rely.
Please send your comments and questions to: Rev. Eijun Bill Eidson |
