Where’s Shumon and Monshin?
Last month Shumon and I spent the Thanksgiving holiday in Honolulu attending the 50th anniversary celebration of the Tendai-shu Hawai’i Betsuin (Tendai Mission of Hawai’i), the installation of Rev. Tanaka Shojun as the new abbot, and important meetings with Shumon and I and Tendai dignitaries. Altogether there were about 50 soryo (monk/priests) from Japan in Hawaii for the ceremonies.
Some of the dignitaries participating in the events last month were responsible for the founding of the Hawai’i Betsuin 50 years ago and they were also responsible for establishing Tendai Buddhist Institute as the Tendai-shu New York Betsuin 22 years ago. Our temple, Karuna Tendai Dharma Center was established six years earlier. In 2001 the Tendai Overseas Charitable Foundation (Jigyodan) visited us, respected what we do, how we do it, and determined we should be designated the head Tendai temple in North America. The Jigyodan paid off our mortgage on the property and financed the building of our serene hondo.
Our relationship with Tendai-shu, represented by the Jigyodan, Enryakuji (Head temple of Tendai in Japan) and the Shumochu (Administrative offices) have been a valuable asset to Tendai Buddhist Institute. Without these close connections our hondo (main building – the temple) would not have been renovated into what it is today, and I would not be the Chancellor for Tendai-shu in North America.
Hearing Incense . . .
When I walk into a Buddhist temple the first sensation that greets me is the fragrance of the incense. If the temple is active the aroma envelops me, providing a sense of calm and tranquility. It reminds me I am in a sacred place.
Incense is mentioned in both the Pali (Theravada) and Sanskrit (Mahayana) sutras. It was used during the time of Śakyamuni Buddha, and it is universal, found in all schools of Buddhism. In Japan it was first used around 595 CE during the reign of Empress Suiko and Prince Shotoku. Shotoku is renowned for promoting Buddhism in Japan Buddhism. Incense was imported to Japan along with Buddhism via Korea and China in 552.
It is more than a fragrant compliment to the temple’s offerings. Incense is an integral part of meditation, gongyo and other Buddhist observances. It is as important as any other implement on the Kenmitsudan (exoteric-esoteric table – the altar at which the soryo sits) and Shumidan (flower table the altar at the front on which sits the honzon (main image).
Practicing with incense has a mystical quality to it.
Fragrance stimulates the most rudimentary part of our brain. The olfactory nerve is the shortest nerve in the body, travelling to the upper part of the brain to the olfactory bulb. This is where the sensory input will start to interact with parts of the brain responsible for smell identification, memory, and emotion.
The sight of the smoke from the stick or the bowl wafts slowly up in tendrils that wrap around the currents of heat rising as an offering, to the buddhas, the deities, the spirits, the ancestors, the teachings themselves.
ko (香) is the Japanese word for incense. For meditations, memorials observance, and ceremonies, stick incense (senko) is used. The sticks are made from finely ground ingredients with a binder called Makko, made into a paste and formed by centuries old methods. The thickness and length of the sticks determine how long the senko will burn, thus providing a handy way to time one’s meditations. Senko is used during meditation primarily to improve focus and concentration.
Other types of incense are used during gongyo and other ceremonies. Zuko is powdered incense used for purification, both of a practitioner during rituals and anyone participating. The zuko has a sweet taste and fragrance.
Shoko is grain incense that is made from the shavings of tree bark. It is used for offerings in gratitude to buddhas and deities. It is the incense that is dropped on a charcoal for dedications, memorials, remembrances, and other rituals. It has a spicy, slightly astringent fragrance.
Japanese temple incense is an all-natural product. The primary ingredients are usually Sandalwood and agarwood, both elements have different grades, countries of origin and varieties which add to their complexity. For instance, Japanese incense companies divide agarwood into six categories depending on the region obtained and properties of the agarwood. One particular grade of kōboku (the aged resin of agarwood) with a high oil content and superior fragrance is called kyara. Kyara is currently worth more than its weight in gold.
The other materials that may be used include: cinnamon bark, chebulic myrobalan, clove, ginger lily, lavender, licorice, patchouli, spikenard, chamomile, rhubarb, safflower, star anise, and other herbs. Shell fragrances and other animal-derived aromatic material are sometimes employed. The makko is a powder derived from the bark of the tabu-no-ki tree or gum tragacanth. Currently, 70% of all of Japan’s incense is manufactured on a small island south of Osaka, Awaji-shima.
What does it mean to hear incense? Hearing incense has the meaning of slowly tasting the scent in your heart. This is a term that is often used to imply the importance of experiencing incense. Burning incense is considered a bridge between the human world and the spirit world.
The role of incense is more than aesthetic, it is the aroma of the Buddha realms that you hear. The next time you walk into a hondo, or sangha space, be aware of the fragrance of the incense, allow it to permeate your being, carrying you out of the mundane into the sacred.
With Love and Gassho . . . Monshin