Spiritual Journeys to Japan

You can practice Shingon Reiki anywhere in the world. Still, there are places where the practice gets a different depth, because the same mantras you use at home have been recited there for more than a thousand years. In this article I'd like to tell you about some of these places and about how our journeys to Japan came about.

I spent about three years doing research at Kyoto University, thanks to two scholarships, and much of that time I was in temples. On the recommendation of my professor in Kyoto I also walked the Shikoku pilgrimage. My first attempt ended after about ten days at Temple 24. A year later I walked all 88 temples on foot. Out of these experiences grew the journeys to Japan that Eileen and I now guide together.

Kōyasan, the heart of Shingon 高野山

高野山 Kōyasan, Mount Kōya, is the place Kūkai founded in 816 as the center of the Shingon tradition. The temple town lies at an altitude of about 800 meters on a plateau surrounded by eight peaks, which are often compared to the petals of a lotus. Here you find Kongōbuji, the head temple of Kōyasan Shingon, and Okunoin, where Kūkai's mausoleum lies at the end of a long avenue of cedars lined with tens of thousands of graves.

Many temples on Kōyasan offer temple lodgings (jap.: shukubō). You can take part in the monks' morning service, eat vegetarian temple cuisine (jap.: shōjin ryōri) and walk through the quiet cedar avenue to Okunoin in the evening. What I find special about Kōyasan is that the three mysteries of mantra, mudra and meditation are not a theory there, but part of everyday life.

Shikoku, the 88-temple pilgrimage 四国遍路

The island of Shikoku is home to the most famous pilgrimage in Japan, the 四国遍路 Shikoku henro. It connects 88 temples on a route of roughly 1,200 kilometers around the whole island. The four prefectures of the island are traditionally seen as four stages of the spiritual path: awakening of the mind, practice, enlightenment and nirvana.

When I walked the pilgrimage, I recited the mantra of the Medicine Buddha again and again in the heat and with sore feet. It's hard to put into words what a path like this does with you. The body becomes the place of practice, and the path itself becomes a meditation.

The pilgrimage stands under the protection of Kūkai. Many pilgrims wear white clothing and a straw hat with the words 同行二人 dōgyō ninin, "two walking together", meaning you and Kūkai. So even if you walk on your own, you're never really alone.

Kyoto, the city of temples 京都

Kyoto was the capital of Japan for more than a thousand years, and it is still the spiritual center of the country. There are around 2,000 temples and shrines, Zen gardens and teahouses, and the tradition is part of everyday life in the city. Not far from Kyoto lie the Kurama mountains, where Usui had his decisive experience.

What makes a spiritual journey different 修行

A holiday in Japan can be wonderful, and a spiritual journey is something a little different. The difference is less in the program than in the attitude. In Japanese you could call it 修行 shugyō, practice in the broadest sense, where the temple visits, the walks, the food and the quiet moments all become part of the practice.

Our next journey is in May 2027, after the cherry-blossom crowds and before the rainy season. Takamatsu on Shikoku is our base, and the route includes Zentsuji, the birthplace of Kūkai and Temple 75, as well as the first temples of the Shikoku pilgrimage, with the Kurama mountains as an optional extension. Initiations and rituals on site are part of it. The group is small, six to eight people, and there are two separate journeys, one in English and one in German.

Who these journeys are for 参加

You don't need any previous experience with Shingon Reiki to come along. The journeys are open to anyone who wants to experience Japan beyond the usual sights, whether you already practice or are discovering Japanese spirituality for the first time. Since I speak Japanese, I can translate on site and explain what is going on in the temples.

You'll find all the details on the page about our journeys to Japan. Which of these places would you most like to experience yourself?