Shugendô

Shugendo is an extremely old spiritual tradition. Practioners must have a good feel for magic, energy, Light, symbols, the japanese language and lot and lots of time to study and practice. Shugendo refers to the religion and Yamabushi are Shugendo practioners. This ancient japanese religion is the way of activating, practicing and mastering magic by leading an ascetic lifestyle most of the time and experience community in templelife with other followers of this Path.

You could compare Shugendo to the Knights of Europe in search for the Holy Grail and eternal Life.
Shugendo is more a Spiritual Order then a religious movement and a deep practition of the japanese arts of a Buddhist school. Shugendô however is much much more than Buddhism. In addition, ancestral shugendo never tries to proselytize. It is not a religion that wants to go on a quest to convince others that this is the way to enlightment and it doesn't advertise with a number of possibilities that can offer an individual salvation. This way of life, this deep spiritual path doesn't offer pills and a safe method that could lead to freedom from suffering and eternal bliss. It is far from easy. Shugendo is not an institution, a religion or a sect looking for a way to beat time and to make the religion solid enough to survive eternity. It already is a thousand-year-old tradition. Considerable new buddhist schools of Japan like to plant seeds of confusion in the mind of those who do not know and understand true Shugendo. The rites, rituals, methods, techniques are not written down, public and open to all that are interested in practicing the sacred and secrets magic of the mountain magicians in Japan.

Shugendo is deep spiritual knowledge, a deep knowing that a person can make his own on the path (dô), and this deep knowing and awareness results from an ascetic lifestyle and ascetic practices (shu) of divine natural powers (gen). Shugendo is a complete package of all kinds of practices and rules and with that a certain lifestyle that the practioner lives to experience the results : becoming ONE with the Universe and ONE with nature. This package of teaching, study, meditation, contemplation, practices and rules are of great importance and sometimes even indispensable to reach this result of becoming enlightened and desolve into the Source of the Universe as pure Spirit. To reach this goal Yamabushi practiced magic and refined their magic skills till all kinds of arts were developed to use them. Exorcisme, martial arts, channelings, healings on self and others, fasting, meditation, breathing techniques, be the mountain.

Followers of this Path are called : Yamabushi, the ones who sleep in the mountain, because it is often in the mountains that they practise, that they withdrew in pilgrimage to be all alone in the mountains and with the mountains. Yama means mountain and Bushi means warrior, so you could also look at the yamabushi as Mountain Warriors.

They believed that the mountain was not only the perfect place to live, retreat and live the necessary lifestyle. But the mountain also represented the world of Spirits, where the first Buddha was born, a higher plane, and the place where the Buddha did not needed books and texts and writings to study what was necessary. It was not about doing and becoming.
It was all about the deep knowing and full awareness that every thing ''is'' and to experience ''being''in ordesr to fully activate the awareness of being in all, all things.

Practioners and followers are hermits, ascetes, living a life in isolation, in nature. Alone to experience a deepness not to be found in a lot of fake, even clownesk forms and new buddhist sects. They are focussed on loosing their ego - their indivudality - by burning the ego away by going through hell and awaken the demons inside. A trueShugendo warrior was strong enough to face all demons and to walk on fire, walk on swords, walk on water, climb the mountains and survive the winds without loosing health and becoming insane. They were working on purification, healing, and becoming ONE with nature and the Universe and join the Light as pure spirit, pure light. To master all kind of magic skills they were devoted to the Elements and challenged to master all the tasks and talents that could make them stronger warriors, smarter then demons and escaping the traps ready to trick the ego that always looked for the easy way without defeating the obstacles many stumbled onto studying the dharma.

Shugendo has connections with a shamanic way of life. The Yamabushi shamans are specialists in Eastern magic. Supernatural or divine properties and possibilities can be acquired by these japanese magicians who practice rituals, do prayers, and communicate with higher power. The methods that are performed when practicing magic are developed by the personal practice of the ascetic and unique for each Yamabushi. There won't be 2 Yamabushi with the same methods in healing and in their performance of magical manifestations.

Catholiscisme couldn't change the true witchcraft and the ancient ways of the druids. New buddhist sects couldn't change the Shugendo way of life. Shugendo has always kept to the ancient religious like in every animist and magic culture. Intrucing new buddhist traditions, doctrines and temples did not harm the the ancient japanese animistic way of life. New ways were easily integrated so the new sects never knew that the old ways were hidden and kept safe from a much broader audience. The goals were alike. Help stop all from suffering, find peace, satisfaction and experience joy and happiness.
They kept working towards higher goals and spiritual experiences. Their role was like the druids. They were important in cultural events and political programs. They too were advisers, colouring the culture by rituals, habits, ideas and idealism. And on the other hand, they lived in the wild, in and on a mountain to live with Gods, spirit and deities. Yamabushi were forced to make themselves invisible and commit to new ways like druids were. But both religions are well and awake even now.

The worship of 5 Kings of Light comes from tantric Buddhism. The deities often look like demonic monsters to show us a terrifying aspect present in human conciousness and in each individual. Their appearance is to frighten the demons in us, to destroy dangerous longing and obsessions and ignorant behaviour. Most easily recognized of the group of 5 is Fudou. In the East thrones Gozanze Yasha Myô, in the West Daitoku Yasha Myô, in the North Gundari Yasha Myô, the South Kongo Yasha Myô. Dainichi Daishô Fudou Myô is often shown sitting on a stone or standing on top on one. His skin is dark blue to represent the endless possibilities in life and he is dressed as if on fire. His face has big eyes and he snarles and hiss's. This is the dragon, the blue spirit, the Universe, the eternal life force, divine sky.

The song of the wind sung by the mountain spirits, the whispers of the waves rolling on the rocks, and meeting sand on ever shore on earth, the deep noises of nature, the hissing and cracking of fire and vlames, the secrets shared by trees and plants and herbs and flowers. All that explains the Nature of Dharmas. Without a single human saying anything, the Eternal Word roams the Universe in the Plan of Being. To bring your Spirit into Buddha's state of mind without the silk robes, without the laws and rituals and without scrolls, texts, theoretical knowledge was important to Shugen. No writings, no texts, no sutra's. Live and experience in full awareness the Spirit of the Buddha.
Even if they do not know the Writings, the men who know the source of the spirit have the Original Awakening. The principle of Shugen. This deep spiritual awakening, this deep connection wit all that IS, to experience Oneness and the deep spirituality that belongs to these teachings is transmitted spirit to spirit. This is how the Shugen reach out to life.

With a little help from my grandmother. *

Carlijn Christina.
© Carlijn Christina

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