Welcome to Spring!

Hello everyone,

Each time I login in to the email system, the list has grown. Now we have friends from as far as Australia participating in each Goma. Thank you all for your support!

May I welcome you to the Spring Season! The vernal equinox which took place this past Saturday represented the day when the daytime/nightime were equal and our actual and spiritual passing into the spring season.

From the ancient Taoist teachings comes the creationary and control cycles depicting how each of the five elements (Wood ---> Fire----> Earth --->Metal--->Water) interact in three different models:

1) How one creates another

2) How one consumes another

3) How one controls/moderates another

This model is so interesting to study and forms the basis of Chinese medicine/acupuncture.

Spring is the season of wood...the element that lends to birth and growth...and feeds fire. Spring time is the natural time to clean (Spring cleaning) and to enjoy the burst of energy that comes with the youth of birth of growth.

Come celebrate wood giving birth to fire at this month's Goma Fire Ceremony which falls on a SUNDAY!

Sunday March 28th at 4:30pm. If you wish to inscribe wishes on wood please arrive by 4:30pm. If you wish to only observe the ceremony, we will start at about 5:00. It's fine to arrive at 5:00 or after if you only wish to observe the ritual.

As always please do invite friends and if you cannot make it and have wishes that you would like to offer for manifestation, you may email them to us at gomaceremony@gmail.com.

OFudosama Gets a Makeover | Special Guest Announced

I am so excited to announce that we will have the special guest from Japan attend February Goma. Keita Kunimitsu san, who is the son of Mrs. Tanaka - my teacher's wife will visit the US and attend the Goma. Keita-san is on business and recently had a baby girl so we are so happy he can visit the US for a few days.

In the early part of February, Ofudosama, the main deity of our Goma received a makeover and a new structure was built to house him. Please enjoy the pictures below.

February Goma will be Sunday Feb 28th at 4pm. If you do not wish to inscribe wishes on Gomaki, you may arrive around 4:40

Thank you everyone!

Report of Goma from the Eyes of a Guest

Hello everyone,

We have completed January Goma with the most unusual weather phenomena. The forecast called for mid 40s as it had been all week but we woke up to a magical snowstorm...all in all about 4 inches of snow before the skies became clear just before Goma. Then, just as the Goma was ending we had a blizzard with probably close to 30mph wind, and then magically right after the ceremony, the skies cleared giving way to the 13th day of the new moon which we saw as a bright full moon on a bitter cold night.

Our special guest, Mr Adam Bradley, took some time to write of his experiences. Please enjoy his essay and some pictures.

If you have never heard of the Goma, it is a traditional Japanese Buddhist fire ceremony that offers practitioners an opportunity release and cleanse unwanted thoughts and habits as well as the chance to offer wishes or prayers for any purpose. I had the unique opportunity to participate for my first time on this 28th of January, Fudo Myo’s day. Preparations were readied for the ceremony early in the day and now the mood was relaxed as the dojo cho arrived on the outdoor deck to greet guests. There were four guests that made the trip from nearby cities on this blistering day to the fairly remote location in the Connecticut woodlands. The forested residence where the Goma is held each month sits adjacent of a two thousand acre state park, a forested wonderland in which the recently fallen snow powdered the hilled topography. A lull in the stormy weather offered an opportunity for guests to enjoy tea and mochi (Japanese rice cake) while preparing wishes on small pine sticks in advance of the ceremony.

When my trip was planned two months previously it was suggested we schedule the trip so I could participate in the Goma. But the reason for my trip would be much more than a spiritual vacation. Two years previously I had sculpted a three foot tall Fudo Myo, the main deity of the fire ceremony, from a single piece of western red cedar with a backdrop of flames sculpted from old growth redwood. Since then the combination of weather extremes and sun exposure had deteriorated the wood finish on the outdoor sculpture. So it was decided that a trip should be scheduled to refurbish the wood sculpture and create a more permanent outdoor housing to prevent future damage due to extreme weather conditions.

Ive been hearing about the goma since completing the Fudomyo Zou in 2008 and now I had the chance to participate. The Ceremony opened with a traditional Japanese Shinto purification, called Kiyomeharae. I have experienced this practice many times over the years while visiting my sensei at Tsubaki Grand Shrine of America, a Shinto shrine in upper Washington state. During this process the entire space is purified using salt, special sand and clean white paper flakes along with Sake which are thrown to the four corners pacifying the space for the spiritual the undertaking

Now the Buddhist Ceremony would begin and the weather still very cold, in the 20s, but the sun still shined brightly through sparse clouds. I took my place at the side of the Goma alter where many small brass dishes filled with variety of food offerings and such. The Dojo cho made his appearance adorned in bright green Japanese robes, readied himself, lit incense and began the incantations to further purify and open a clean space for the Kami/Deity. When the fire was finally struck and the prayer sticks began to burn, the intensity increased exponentially till the chants for Fudyo myo ushered the first climactic event. The sky turned sapphire hues as the sun began to set and clouds rolled in with so many large snow flakes beginning to fall. Earlier in the day we had erected a tarp to provide shelter for just this occasion, and as we would find, it was so good to have it.

Now the Ceremony was coming to a close and the incantation of Japanese prayers began again for one last round of fire and offerings. As the sacred fire grew so did the intensity of the weather and dark clouds billowed over the mountain with wind gusts and intense snow to stir our concentration. And then a most unlikely thing occurred, as if conjured by the chanting, a billowing thunder roared over the mountain. Blizzard conditions pursued for what seamed like an eternity and was gone as quickly as it arrived. The fire dimmed and ceased. With all the prayer sticks burned and offerings had, the ceremony was completed. The remaining guests sat persistently by a waning fire and propane heaters, chilled by the blistering cold but very happy to have participated and so was I. We retired to our guests home for tea and warmth to discuss the unique ceremony and events that transpired. Such a neat experience to usher the work that would be completed over the next week.

Douglas Adam Bradley is Sculptor in Northern California specializing in wooded statuary.
Web address: www.MaderaSculptures.com
Contact: adam@maderaSculptures.com

Special Guest in Town

Hello everyone,

Now we are preparing for the first Goma of 2010 and I am so happy to announce that Mr Adam Bradley of Sacramento, CA is in town. Adam is the master wood sculptor who carved our Fudo Myoo statue and is here refinishing the statue and building the weatherproof housing for it.

Please visit Adam's site at www.maderasculptures.com

Please also join us this Thursday at 3:15 pm. If you cannot make the ceremony and would like to make wishes, please email them to me at gomaceremony@gmail.com.

Thank you so much everytime!

New Years Goma | Guarding Health During Holiday Season

Of course this time of year we are all so busy celebrating the holidays of light at the darkest time of the year with good food, friends, family, and gifts. Whatever holiday you celebrate, please enjoy! And please enjoy all of the pristine freshly fallen snow. I can't remember the last white Christmas we had in CT.

We just crossed the winter solstice "Touji" in Japanese. This was the shortest day of the year and we are moving into the most yin time of the year. This time when all life retreats inward is a great time for profound spiritual reflection. (and a trip to Keywest J)

Please also guard your health at this time of year by being sure to cover up the back of your neck and staying warm. The back of the neck houses two important acupuncture points called "gallbladder 20" or "gate of wind" translated from Chinese. Oriental medicine teaches us that the internal climate is a microcosm of the external climate and as such we are susceptible to invasions by cold wind and dampness. One of the entry points for the cold wind is the back of the neck. From there is travels to the lung which houses the first barrier of protective energy. This is why we sneeze , sniffle, and cough.

The Japanese term for " to catch a cold" is Kaze o Hikimashita or "to catch the wind."

So please do your best to avoid catching a cold, a wind, or a cold wind by covering up the back of your neck, staying warm, eating healthy warming/yang foods, getting enough sleep, and staying happy.

Perhaps the best way to stay warm is attend this month's Goma. I know it may sound ridiculous but we have two new heaters - one an outdoor wood burning stove and the other a propane heater. That means we will have 3 heaters next weekend.

Our New Years Goma obstacle removing fire ceremony will be held on Sunday December 27^th. Please note that we have moved it up one day from the customary 28^th so that more people can attend. This is perhaps the most important Goma of the year as it clears away all obstacles to whatever you want/need in the new year. It's also a wonderful way to boost your new year's resolutions. So please join us if you can and invite friends. Please arrive by 2pm.

May you be filled with brightness going into the new year.

Cut Obstacles for the New Year!

We finished the November Goma on Saturday under very sunny skies. Our heater broke just before the start so I want to thank the guests who braved the cold to join us as we had a very good turnout. We had the very special guests - one of my most treasured teachers who I hadn't seen in some time and his girlfriend joined us. I've posted some pictures below.

The December ceremony will be held on Sunday December 27th at 2pm. This goma is especially important because it is focused on clearing away any obstacles that may be holding us back from success, prosperity, and abudance in the new year. So, pleased do join us and tell your friends...together, let's bring in 2010 with purpose, vision, and no obstacles!

Thank you all!

Rev Tanaka to visit CT Fudosan Kongo-Ji Temple

Minnasama Doumo…

Just now I am sitting in the Tokyo airport on my way back to US after the very successful trip to Japan. Here I will share some pictures from the trip.

Maybe my favorite thing about visiting Japan is the food…and it started with a tremendous breakfast buffet the morning after I landed. scrambled eggs, boiled eggs, fried eggs, Spanish omelets, egg curry, Canadian bacon, ham, crispy bacon, soft bacon, sausage, chicken sausage, steamed veges, rice noodles, all kinds of fish, 4 different kinds of tofu, miso soup, various Japanese vegetables, chocolate Danish, apple Danish, strawberry Danish, bread, croissant, cereal, oatmeal, pancakes, French toast, hash browns, all the fruit you can imagine, and about 12 other kinds of bread/danishes, orange juice, acerola juice, apple juice, grapefruit juice, tea, coffee…and a bunch of stuff I don’t remember.

Then I could spend several days on the sacred mountain that is home to several of the Okamisama spirits that are enshrined in our Dojo Shrine and to whom we make offerings before Goma time. In Japan, mountains are considered the sacred abode of the spirits and this mountain is so incredibly powerful…it has the very profound spiritual history of the yamabushi (mountain ascetics) training. Mountains are addressed by the suffix San which is used when addressing a person. Essentially it means Mr. or Mrs. Each day twice I could walk to the onsen hot springs and enjoy the hot mineral spring bath in the cool mountain air. During the morning I was planning to hike up to the inner shrine which is deeper in the mountains, we had the really big rain but it cleared after noon and a bunch of synchronicities led to very profound experiences at the shrine.

And then it was off for the busy week in Tokyo area with Rev. Tanaka. It was the harvest Thanksgiving festival in Japan which is a national holiday similar to our thanksgiving. The temple had a really magnificent two day ceremony where many people could light candles and offer Thanksgiving to the spirits of their ancestors. I particularly enjoy this ceremony because of the thousands of candles that are lit and placed around the edges of the pagoda and in the water stream.

During the week, I could spend a lot of time with Sensei, study the goma, purchase new items for the Goma, and discuss with Sensei our progress. During this time, Sensei Tanaka presented me with a ceremonial kesa that was passed to him by Archbishop Seytsu Takahashi. Takahashi Sensei served as the Bishop of North America from 1931 until 1982 and later became the Hoin -archbishop of Koyasan the highest position in Shingon. I am so grateful to be able to wear such a powerful kesa.

Sensei is very happy with our goma and

Rev Tanaka has announced his visit to Fudosan Kongo-Ji Temple in September 2010.

Sensei will be visiting our CT Temple in September of 2010 and we will have the very special Goma. More information will be posted as it becomes available.

Sumimasen (excuse me), now my plane is leaving soon and I must go to boarding.

Please join us on November 28^th.

Thank you everyone!

Myochi Riki.