Yume Henro: Dreaming the Shikoku Pilgrimage
- 3 days ago
- 7 min read
The following is a Dharma Talk given by Rev. Kōryu Atsushi at the home of a housebound, bedridden elderly person in 1989. It was then put into essay form and printed as a booklet in 1990 to commemorate the 1100th anniversary of the death of Shinnen, a disciple of Kōbō Daishi. I've tried to stay faithful to the original, but have added some explanatory phrases here and there to make it more accessible to an international audience.
The sermon later inspired a hymn (wasan) by Rev. Jishū Watari of the same name. The lyrics of the song are translated below the story. It is subtitled as The Hymn of the Shikoku Pilgrimage.
The Great Teacher abides…
As you know, Mt. Koya is in Japan’s Wakayama Prefecture. The mountain, which stands about 1,000 meters above sea level, is the headquarters of the Kōyasan Branch of the Shingon School of Buddhism. “Kōya” means “high plain,” and refers to the flat area of the mountain. Since the area is surrounded by eight peaks, it is often compared to a lotus blossom.
Within Mount Kōya is an area called uguisu-dani or, “the Valley of Bush Warblers.” As the name suggests, this is a haven for Japan’s beloved Bush Warblers birds. Their sweet songs invite visitors to walk deeper into the peaceful forest of the valley. At the end of the valley is the oku-no-in, where Kōbō Daishi, the founder of the Shingon School whose name means “The Great Teacher who Spread the Dharma”, remains in meditation. The Uguisu-dani is a less crowded route than the popular main path through the Okunoin’s vast graveyard.
The Okunoin, or “Inner Sanctuary” of Mount Kōya is the site of O-Daishi-san’s Mausoleum. It’s there that, more than 1150 years ago, he entered meditation to pray for the happiness of all humanity.
The Goeika, or pilgrim song, of the Okunoin goes like this:
Arigataya How grateful I am!
takano no yama no In the shade of the boulders
iwakage ni High on Mount Koya
daishi wa imada Even now, the Great Teacher
owashimasu naru Abides, forever with us.
As the lyrics say, even now, Kōbō Daishi continues his work to save beings from their suffering. As the time of his entry into meditation drew near, the Great Teacher called his disciples close to him and said, “Soon we will not be able to meet in this way. When that time comes, paint my image or carve it into wood or stone, think of me, and say my name! I will unfailingly draw near to one who does this and protect them.” Making this vow, he passed into meditation.
Millions of people have been saved by relying on the Great Teacher and calling his name with the prayer Namu Daishi Henjō Kongō.
Let me tell you the story of one such person, Ms. Mine Katō, who chanted that precious name day and night and spent her days with a peaceful heart.
Dreaming of the Shikoku Pilgrimage
Mine is a grandmother turning 86 this year. Unable to walk as she used to, she found herself increasingly bedridden. Though grateful for the tender care she received from her family, she had one regret in life—she had never made a pilgrimage to the Eighty-Eight Sacred Sites of Shikoku. She'd always dreamed of doing the Shikoku Henro, but with her legs in such a state, it had become clear that the journey was impossible for her.
Seeing how sad the situation made his mother, Mine’s son Yutaka began doing the Henro little by little in his off time from work. Each time, he brought home a souvenir for his mother—cotton noren curtains, dyed with all the names of the eighty-eight temples.
Mine was overjoyed at her son’s gift, and hung the noren on her wall so she could see them from her bed.
Number One: Ryōzen-ji
Number Two: Gokuraku-ji
Number Three: Konsen-ji…
As she looked at the noren day after day, Mine began to feel like she was doing the pilgrimage herself. And that’s how Mine began to fulfill her dream of doing the Henro.
Number One: Ryōzen-ji…Namu Daishi Henjō Kongō
Number Two: Gokuraku-ji…Namu Daishi Henjō Kongō
Number Three: Konsen-ji…Namu Daishi Henjō Kongō
Repeating the names of the temples and of the Great Teacher Kūkai again and again, Mine soon found that even if she closed her eyes she could see the letters of the noren. By the time a month had passed, she’d memorized the names of all the temples. When Mine’s grandchildren came to visit they’d quiz her.
“Grandma, what’s the name of number fifteen?”
“It’s Kokubun-ji!” Mine answered, quick as a whip.
“How about sixty?”
“Yokomine-ji!”
“Wow Grandma, you really know them all! You’re a Henro master!” her family would tease, all of them laughing together.
“It’s strange isn’t it? Even though I’ve never been, it’s like I can see the temple halls. I can see Shikoku’s mountains in the distance, I can hear the ringing bells of pilgrims. I think O-Daishi-san is showing it to me. Today I went from the last temple, Ōkubo-ji, all the way to Mount Kōya!”
Like that, Mine did the Henro that had always been her dream. On rainy days she’d imagine it like a real rainy day, slow and steady, while on sunny days she’d bound from temple to temple. That became her daily form of prayer. When she felt glad, she'd say Namu Daishi Henjō Kongō. When she had a bad dream, she’d even intone Namu Daishi Henjō Kongō while she was still asleep. As time passed, she found the pain in her back eased, she no longer laid anxiously awake at night.
A Heart Like a Pearl
Shunpei Ueyama, the director of the Kyōto National Museum, says “Chanting mantras is like nurturing a pearl.” At first just a grain of sand, little by little thin layers stick to that tiny center until it becomes a great pearl. In the same way, continuously chanting mantras, one’s mind gradually becomes like a brilliantly shining jewel. The pearl of Mine’s mind was gradually growing brighter.
When her daughter cared for her, Mine put her hands together in gratitude and said “Thank you, Namu Daishi Henjō Kongō.”
“Cut that out!” her daughter said, laughing. “I’m not Kūkai!”
But to Mine, her daughter was O-Daishi-san, her doctors were O-Daishi-san, and she herself was a pilgrim always being guided and protected by O-Daishi-san. Sincerely chanting Kōbō Daishi’s precious name over and over and over, her mind settled, her body relaxed, and she felt love in everything around her. The brightness of Mine’s pilgrimage even shone on the people in her life.
Kōbō Daishi, too, continuously chanted mantras during his period of ascetic practice as a young man. Chanting a mantra a million times at places like Tairyū-ji and the Muroto Peninsula, he freed himself from suffering and worry, became blissful and full of power, and realized that human beings can become Buddhas in their own bodies just as they are. This is why he recommended that we, too, chant mantras. Reflecting on this we can see why our school is called the Shingon, or mantra, school. With certainty proven by his own experience, Kōbō Daishi tells us to “Chant, chant, and keep chanting. If you chant you will certainly attain salvation.”
Namu Daishi Henjō Kongō
The temples of the Henro all have a Main Hall and a “Daishi Hall.” The Daishi hall is, of course, where Kōbō Daishi, the Great Teacher who Spread the Dharma, is enshrined. The main hall is where the temple’s Main Deity is enshrined. Each temple has a different deity, such as Yakushi, Kannon, Shakyamuni, or Dainichi Nyorai. Each of these various Buddhas have their own mantras. Yakushi Nyorai, the Medicine Buddha’s, is On Korokoro Sendari Matōgi Sowaka. Jizō’s is On Kakaka Bisanmaei Sowaka.
Henjō Kongō, which means “All-Illuminating Vajra,” is a mantra which reaches all Buddhas. Namu Daishi Henjō Kongō is both Kōbō Daishi’s name and the mantra of all Buddhas, and it’s the easiest mantra for us to become familiar with.
Chant Namu Daishi Kongō with true sincerity. The Buddhas will protect you and gratitude for the preciousness of life will pervade your body.
When I reflect on the karmic connections that bring us together as parent and child, as married couples, and as family, I believe that we are all children on the Buddhas, and that it is only by revering one another, devoting ourselves to one another, and sustaining one another that we find true joy and purpose in fully living our unrepeatable human life.
Kōbō Daishi, please watch over Mine’s Dream Pilgrimage.
In Japan, the Bush Warbler’s voice heralds the spring, and its song is beloved as a sign of winter’s end. Just as the spring sunshine shines on the vast ocean, may your life shine ever brighter.
Let’s chant Kōbō Daishi’s name together.
Namu Daishi Henjō Kongō
Namu Daishi Henjō Kongō
Namu Daishi Henjō Kongō
Yume Henro (The Henro of My Dreams)
Translated from the Japanese Wasan hymn by Rev. Jishū Watari
I bow in reverent homage to Kōbō Daishi
Taking on a pilgrim’s form and cleansing my body
At these sacred sites of pilgrimage, eighty-eight in all,
The homeland of aspiring and training toward the Goal.
How precious is this pilgrimage, the Henro of my dreams.
Brilliant Vajra Shining Forth, Kōbō Daishi
The living Buddha ever near, who shares each step with me,
In this life and the next, off’ring salvation to all
In the homeland of the letter A, Bodhi, Nirvana.
How precious is this pilgrimage, the Henro of my dreams.
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