| In 1993, Rev. Eijun (Bill) Eidson and Rev. Shoken (Ana) Harada
were at Hozan-ji, a Shingon temple in Ikoma, Japan. The Headmaster
of the Temple, Jitsudo Matsumoto , was performing a ritual ceremony
for Daishokangi Ten, the Great Heavenly Deity of Joy , who is
portrayed in the form of two embracing elephant-headed humans.
As the ritual was being performed, Rev. Eidson experienced a series
of visions/insights that came to his mind. He could see how the
energy of the two embracing deities came together; their fusion
creating a tremendous amount of energy on a myriad of different
levels - one of those being the fusion of Heaven and Earth. This fusion created an incredible state of consciousness that was beyond the duality of matter and light. It was a beautiful golden ribbon of consciousness - light dancing upon it, creating the vibrations of this universe - the Dharma of the Union of HeavenEarth. As a result of this experience, Rev. Harada and Rev. Eidson were confident that if these Shingon rituals could produce such states of consciousness, then these rituals/teachings were important enough to be part of their spiritual growth. This was the beginning their journey towards the Shingon priesthood; both were ordained as Shingon priests in 1995. Rev. Eidson's and Rev. Harada's continuing dream is to fully experience all levels of Koyasan Shingon Buddhism and teach these rituals and procedures to serious Western students who do not speak Japanese. In order to support their dream and bring it into reality, Rev. Harada and Rev. Eidson founded The Shingon Buddhist International Institute . |
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The Dream | Vision Statement | History Building Project | Major Ceremonies Establishing a Local Daishiko |
Please send your comments and questions to: Rev. Eijun Bill Eidson
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