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At some point during the four years he spent at Horyuji in Nara studying Yogacara, Kodo Sawaki attended a funeral at Yoshidaji in Yamato. There he met two nuns from the Shingon Vinaya School who were wearing nyoho-e which were similar to the okesa Fueoka roshi was wearing. Since he saw Fueoka roshi’s Nyoho-e okesa when he was 20, his lifetime wish was to wear such okesa and practice. He thought it would be the ultimate fulfillment of his life. And finally after about 10 years he run into the nuns who wore same kind of okesa. He recalled what he felt was indescribable.
At the time of the funeral he could only ask them which lineage they were from, and they were the fourth generation of Jiun Onko, a Shingon priest, a Vinaya reformer and the founder of Shoboritsu ( Vinaya of the True Dharma) in 18th century. Jiun revived Nyoho-e okesa from his extensive study of the Dharmagptaka Vinaya and Mulasarvastivada Vinaya. He facilitated One Thousand Kesa project which took 40 years to be completed, one year after his passing in 1806. In his 30’s Kodo Sawaki had opportunities to take a look at these okesa at Kokiji, the temple Jiun lived to study them. And for many years he returned to the okesa at Kokiji to resolve the questions he had about Nyoho-e okesa.
Short while after he met the nuns they returned to him and asked to lecture on Buddhism for them. He lectured on the texts such as Shobogenzo Zuimonki and Gakudoyojinshu at Kisshoan for several years.
One day the nuns brought him a text ‘ Hobuku kasan’ ( Verses in Praise of Garments of the Way) written by Jiun Onko and asked him to lecture on it. He saw the text for the first time but thought it would not be so difficult to understand. But he found out quickly he had no idea what the text was talking about because he needed a knowledge of okesa to understand what Jjun wrote. He also realized that not only the knowledge of okesa but he also needed to know the actual okesa sewing to fully understand the text. This is how the nuns started to teach him Nyoho-e sewing.
The encounter with the two nuns lead him to extensive okesa study and actual Nyoho-e sewing practice.
After he left Horyuji he practiced at Yosenji, then lived at Jofukuji by himself and solely focused on zazen ( 2 am to 10 pm everyday for 3 years) During this time in1914, Satoko Kitamura, a lay practitioner who used to attend his lectures at Yosenji, visited him. He showed her around Nara and took her to the national museum. When looking at the statues of ’10 disciples of the Buddha’ made in 8th century Kodo told Mrs. Kitamura that he would like to wear such okesa.
She immediately responded she would make one, but it was not until he could borrow one of Jiun’s okesa for her to figure out how it was made she could make the 15 panels Funzo-e, his first Nyoho-e okesa, and he wore it for the rest of his life.
At the time of the funeral he could only ask them which lineage they were from, and they were the fourth generation of Jiun Onko, a Shingon priest, a Vinaya reformer and the founder of Shoboritsu ( Vinaya of the True Dharma) in 18th century. Jiun revived Nyoho-e okesa from his extensive study of the Dharmagptaka Vinaya and Mulasarvastivada Vinaya. He facilitated One Thousand Kesa project which took 40 years to be completed, one year after his passing in 1806. In his 30’s Kodo Sawaki had opportunities to take a look at these okesa at Kokiji, the temple Jiun lived to study them. And for many years he returned to the okesa at Kokiji to resolve the questions he had about Nyoho-e okesa.
Short while after he met the nuns they returned to him and asked to lecture on Buddhism for them. He lectured on the texts such as Shobogenzo Zuimonki and Gakudoyojinshu at Kisshoan for several years.
One day the nuns brought him a text ‘ Hobuku kasan’ ( Verses in Praise of Garments of the Way) written by Jiun Onko and asked him to lecture on it. He saw the text for the first time but thought it would not be so difficult to understand. But he found out quickly he had no idea what the text was talking about because he needed a knowledge of okesa to understand what Jjun wrote. He also realized that not only the knowledge of okesa but he also needed to know the actual okesa sewing to fully understand the text. This is how the nuns started to teach him Nyoho-e sewing.
The encounter with the two nuns lead him to extensive okesa study and actual Nyoho-e sewing practice.
After he left Horyuji he practiced at Yosenji, then lived at Jofukuji by himself and solely focused on zazen ( 2 am to 10 pm everyday for 3 years) During this time in1914, Satoko Kitamura, a lay practitioner who used to attend his lectures at Yosenji, visited him. He showed her around Nara and took her to the national museum. When looking at the statues of ’10 disciples of the Buddha’ made in 8th century Kodo told Mrs. Kitamura that he would like to wear such okesa.
She immediately responded she would make one, but it was not until he could borrow one of Jiun’s okesa for her to figure out how it was made she could make the 15 panels Funzo-e, his first Nyoho-e okesa, and he wore it for the rest of his life.