Master Shinjo Ito (Shinnyo Kyoshu)
The Founder of Shinnyo Buddhism

Shinnyo-en's story began in 1936. Shinjo Ito was enjoying a comfortable career as an aircraft engineer but felt a strong desire to pursue Buddhism and guide people to happiness.

With the support of his wife Tomoji, Shinjo began training in Shingon, a major school of Japanese Buddhism founded in the 9th century CE, at the Daigoji temple complex in Kyoto. According to the mystical teachings of Shingon, enlightenment is not a distant reality that can take countless lifetimes to attain. Rather, it is a part of the reality we live in. With the guidance of a genuine teacher, enlightenment can be realized through practice for the benefit of oneself and others.

Shinjo studied sacred Buddhist texts (known as sutras), searching for one that would capture Shingon's mystical truths yet also make Shingon Buddhism accessible to laypeople. Shinjo concluded that the Nirvana Sutra—which focuses on the teachings of the Buddha in the final moments of his life—was the perfect text to help people understand the Buddha's teachings. The Nirvana Sutra brings together the teachings bequeathed by the Buddha on his final day; it is the Buddha's legacy and the culmination of forty-five years of teaching. The Buddha emphasizes in his final discourse that everyone can attain enlightenment, and welcomes all to the path of cultivating the four virtues of lovingkindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity.

(Excerpted from shinnyoen.org) 

Master Tomoji Ito (Shojushinin)
Co-founder of Shinnyo-en

TOMOJI was born "Tomoji Uchida" on May 9, 1912, in Takane, Yamanashi. She was the wife of Shinjo Ito, and is considered the co-founder of Shinnyo-en. In the 1950's, she became the administrative head of the sangha until her death. She supported him both as a spouse and practitioner. Tomoji was noted for bringing the Buddhist teachings into the practical sphere of everyday life. Often she would teach on Buddhism from the warmth of her kitchen, her informal style becoming one of her legacies to the Shinnyo sangha. Always committed to sharing the wisdom of Buddhism, she accompanied Shinjo on an arduous interfaith goodwill tour of Europe in the summer of 1967. During the trip she suffered from exhaustion, and after returning to Japan she died suddenly on August 6, 1967.

Her posthumous title Shojushinin can be translated as “one who has the spirit of acceptance and harmony.” She was Shinjo Ito's wife, his first disciple, and a source of constant support for him and all the members of the sangha. She led the sangha with humility and grace, imbuing all of her actions with the essence of Shinjo’s teachings. She taught people in such a down-to-earth, accessible way that people saw her as their "dharma mother." The difficulties she faced in her own life helped her become warm, accepting, and strong, and she had an exceptional capacity to understand and support those around her.

Shojushinin is also known as the "Spiritual Source," as she was the first spiritual guide for sesshin training.

She also mastered the rites and teachings of Shinnyo Buddhism, and held one of the highest priestly ranks conferred by the Shingon Daigoji monastery. We see in her the embodiment of selflessness and the supportive, compassionate activities of buddhahood.

(Excerpted from oyasono.online)