Today, Shinnyo-en is led by Her Holiness Shinso Ito, Shinjo's direct successor. Shinso was born in Japan in 1942, the daughter of Shinjo and Tomoji. She began her formal Buddhist training as a child under the care of her parents, who were also her primary spiritual teachers, and eventually became their formal and spiritual successor. MORE
Shinnyo-en is an international Buddhist community founded on the ancient wisdom and love embodied in the Buddha's teachings.
The Buddhist term shinnyo denotes both buddhahood (spiritual awakening) and the nature of reality; en 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.
In 1936, Shinjo Ito was enjoying a comfortable career as an aircraft engineer, but felt a strong desire to pursue Buddhism and guide people to happiness. With the support of his wife Tomoji, Shinjo began training in Shingon, a major school of Japanese Buddhism founded in the 9th century CE, at the Daigoji temple complex in Kyoto. MORE
Central to Shinnyo Buddhism is the Mahaparinirvana Sutra, one of the most seminal texts of Mahayana (Great Vehicle) Buddhism. The heart of the message of this Nirvana Sutra lies in four key points: Buddhahood is always present: The presence, guidance, and compassion of buddhas is timeless; the essence of the Buddha is present in our time as well as a cosmic reality that knows no beginning and no end. MORE
Buddhism is a set of teachings rooted in the teachings of a buddha (awakened one) named Shakyamuni, whose given name was Siddhartha Gautama and who lived on the Indian sub-continent in the 5th-6th centuries B.C. As a practical and philosophical system, it took shape over time as succeeding generations of his disciples developed the teachings further and spread over a wide area. MORE