September 15, 2022

Dear Dharma friends

　Whether you are new to or long-acquainted with us, greetings! As the abbot of Ippoan (pronounced as i-ppo-an), a Buddhist temple in Kamakura, Japan, I have exciting news to share with you.

　The new retreat center, Urabandai Ippoan Project has officially begun. The new center aims to serve as a place of hope for those who feel lost in a world filled with suffering. I aspire to offer a place of the Dharma where you can restore your will and energy to carry on your life full of hope through various mindfulness practices.

　The home of the new center, 裏磐梯一法庵 (Urabandai Ippoan in Japanese), One Dharma Forum, Urabandai, is Kitashiobara Village, named as one of the 100 Most Beautiful Villages in Japan, where you can practice the Dharma in the pristine nature of North-East Japan. Urabandai in the name refers to the north side of Mt. Bandai in Aizu region of Fukushima Prefecture. With the new retreat center, Ippoan will have two locations, and the existing Ippoan will be called 鎌倉一法庵（Kamakura Ippoan in Japanese), One Dharma Forum, Kamakura. I sincerely hope for your continued support for Ippoan in both places.

　You may be curious about the name Ippoan. Ippoan (一法庵）means 庵（Hermitage）of 一(One) 法(Dharma) thus, we call the temple as well as its Sangha as Ippoan and One Dharma Forum interchangeably. Furthermore, Ippo-One Dharma represents my aspiration that my teaching will allow us to return to the teaching of the Buddha before it branched out into different traditions.

　As you all know, Prince Siddhartha found the way out of life’s suffering –birth, aging, sickness, and death and became the Buddha after six years of search that was full of hardship. This “way out”, an emergency exit to a world without suffering, which is also called Nirvana or Paradise, is at the heart of Buddhism.

　Later, as Buddhism spread from India to other parts of Asia, it blended into the culture of the places it touched upon, giving rise to many traditions, such as Mahayana Buddhism in East Asia, Theravada Buddhism in South Asia, and Tibetan Buddhism, with further subdivisions in each of them. But the Buddha’s teaching was originally one. To return to this one teaching, 一法 ( Ippo), is the founding aspiration of Ippoan-One Dharma Forum.

　The aspiration is also my conviction. Zen and Mindfulness, combined together, give rise to a direct pathway to the “emergency exit” that the Buddha discovered. This is what I realized after more than 20 years of practicing Shikantaza (只管打坐, “Just sitting” Zen) in Japan’s Soto-Zen tradition as a Zen monk and intensive study of Theravada’s meditation (Shamata and Vipassana) also as an officially ordained Theravada monk in Myanmar. How come I came to study both traditions as an officially ordained monk in both traditions? I felt as if great forces were at play, which I can only describe as fate. In any case, I am convinced that the two traditions, beyond the superficial differences, need each other.

　I have compiled that path into "One Dharma Meditation Method”, which anyone can practice and realize the “emergency exit”, a sure way to a world completely free of suffering. I am confident that Urabandai Ippoan-One Dharma Forum, Urabandai will be an ideal place to study and practice this method, for which you will need a certain amount of time and quietness in order to yield the result.

　The COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s aggression upon Ukraine are just the newest reminders that this world is nothing but a ”house on fire” as the Buddha described. Let's quickly evacuate to a safe place through the “emergency exit”. Now is the time to raise the last and final light of hope high in the sky.

　We hope you will join us in making the place of hope, our Urabandai Ippoan-One Dharma Forum, Urabandai, into reality.

Sincerely,

Ryodo Yamashita (Suddhammachara Bhikku)

Abbot of Ippoan-One Dharma Forum;

Leader for the new retreat center project

Ryodo Yamashita, Sudhammacara Bhikku, the abbot of Ippoan in Kamakura

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Brief Biography
BA in French Language, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies

• 1983 Ordained as a Soto Zen priest at Antaiji Temple.
• 1988 Began serving as a missionary monk of Soto-Zen school. Taught Zen at the Valley Zendo, Massachusetts in the United States and also in Italy. After returning to Japan, he taught Zen at the Kyoto Soto Zen Center as well as Keisei Zendo.
• 2001 Ordained as a Bhikkhu of Theravada Buddhism at Pa-auk Forest Monastery in Myanmar and completed the Pa-auk Meditation Method in 200?.
• 2006 After further studying in Sri Lanka and Nepal, returned to Japan.

Since then, he is based in Ippoan in Kamakura and has taught meditation throughout Japan and in India, Taiwan. He calls himself, "One Dharma Buddhism” Priest.

Publizations

Single authored:

• 青空としてのわたし(Blue Sky Me)*
• 本当の自分とつながる瞑想入門( Introduction to Meditation to Connect with True Self)*
• 光の中のマインドフルネス(Mindfulness in the Light)*
• マインドフルネス✖️禅 であなたの雑念はすっきり消える(Mindfulness ✖ Zen" to Clear Your Mental Clutter)*
• 本当の自分とつながる瞑想(Meditation to Connect with True Self)*

Co-authored:

• アップデートする仏教(Updating Buddhism)*
• ＜仏教3.0＞を哲学する(Philosophizing "Buddhism 3.0")
  English translation available as
  Buddhism 3.0: A Philosophical Investigation
• 哲学する仏教(Philosophizing Buddhism)*
• ＜仏教3.0＞を哲学するバージョンII(Philosophizing "Buddhism 3.0" -Version II)*

*Currently available in the Japanese language only

　The construction of the new center has already begun. The location is an area called "Urabandai" on the north side of Mt. Bandai in Aizu, Fukushima Prefecture. Here you can learn how the project came to be, the progress so far, and plans toward completion.

Background:

　My journey as a Buddhist monk started on April 8th, 1983. I was ordained a a Soto Zen monk at the Antaiji Temple in Tajima, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan and after devoting myself to the practice of 只管打坐（Shikan taza, “Just Sit” zen), I was sent to the United States as a missionary priest of Soto Zen school. I taught Zazen to Americans at the Valley Zendo in Massachusetts for about three years and briefly in Italy. After returning to Japan, I taught Zazen at the Kyoto Soto Zen Center and Keisei Zendo in Kochi, Japan.

May 1995. Dialogue with Thich Nhat Hanh in Kyoto, Japan

May 1995. Dialogue with Thich Nhat Hanh in Kyoto, Japan

　The turning point came in March 1995 when I was devastated by the sarin gas attack on the subway and the fact that it had been committed by a religious group. I met with Rev. Thich Nhat Hanh in Kyoto shortly thereafter and was convinced that the teaching of mindfulness, which he had taught us directly, was the key to shake up Japan’s Buddhism which was debunked as pitifully powerless by failing to prevent people from being drawn to the cult group. Then, I started learning Theravada Buddhism in which mindfulness (sati) is the main teaching. In 2004, I went to Myanmar, the home of Theravada Buddhism and became a fully ordained Theravada Bhikku. Then, I went through intensive study and practice of the meditation methods of Theravada tradition under the guidance of Pa-Auk Sayadaw, the prominent meditation master, for four years. At the last stage of my study, I encountered something extraordinary, which I often call “a mysterious X”. It was like a UFO encounter, and after returning to Japan in the summer of 2006, I devoted myself to exploring this “mysterious X”.

　The home base to the exploration is the current Ippoan, a small hermitage that my late father built in hopes to support my activities as a monk in the future. It was built in 1985 and my father would stay there when he needed space for contemplation or some quietness. The time when he became unable to visit the hermitage due to old age coincided with my return to Japan, and that is how I took over. Based in Ippoan in Kamakura, I have travelled to many places to deliver teachings all over Japan and beyond. I have taught in India, Taiwan, Korea, and other countries. In each place, I met people of various backgrounds, meditated with them, and deepened my understanding of Dharma through heart-to-heart dialogues.

foreground view of Ippoan in Inamuragasaki, Kamakura

foreground view of Ippoan in Inamuragasaki, Kamakura

　As time goes by, the Sangha grew with both their practice and a deepened understanding of the Dharma. It calls for a place suitable not only for weekly one-day meditation classes but also for long-term retreats. Current Ippoan as a temple is a small house. Meditation classes on the weekends are manageable, but 5-day retreats are challenging. We have managed the monthly 5-day retreats with the help of a good-hearted friend, vegetarian chef Ms. Mari Fujii, who offered accommodation to retreat participants. Still, it is beyond the capacity of Ippoan to accept many people. Therefore, we hold most of the 5-day retreats by renting lodging in rural areas of Tokyo and so on.

　Witnessing how our Sanga grows not only in Japan but also abroad, I believe it is time to have a place that allows us to organize more teaching opportunities. Temples or retreat centers are instrumental to deepening the study of the Dharma or spreading the teaching to the greater world. Just as existing Buddhist schools have their centers, One Dharma Buddhism, too, needs its own place spacious enough to accept many seekers not only in Japan but also from abroad. I wish to build such a place in the bounty of nature.

Why Fukushima?

　Fukushima became world-famous after the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011. When we were looking for something we could do in order to support the disaster-stricken Fukushima, we came up with the idea to have a retreat and invite affected people. A friend of mine in Taiwan (Mr. Steve Chang, founder of Trend Micro) generously offered to support that idea. We immediately searched for a suitable location for it and found Yururi, a guest house in Kitashiobara Village. Since then, a retreat in Yururi has become a part of our tradition. For more than ten years, we kept returning to the lovely inn to hold a retreat every June. In December 2020, we held a retreat in Fukushima for the first time in winter, and we loved it. Surrounded by the serene nature of North-East Japan, every single season there is breathtakingly beautiful. It led us to believe that this village is an ideal place for our new retreat center.

Walking meditation along the Azuma River scenic route

Walking meditation along the Azuma River scenic route

About the place

　Thus began the search for a land suitable for our new retreat center. After the June Retreat in 2021, we walked around the village and it was there: an old cottage at the entrance of the national forest. At a glance, it was clear that no one visited or used the place for many years. When we contacted the owner, indeed he had not used it for decades and wanted to sell it off. Thanks to the generous donation of our friend, we were able to purchase the land in July 2021.

　The old cottage, however lovely, was unfortunately unusable. It was more than 30 years old and damaged by wind, rain, and snow. Thus we are going to tear it down and build a new one. Essential utilities such as water and electricity will be in place. The electricity provider had instilled the necessary poles to deliver energy to the site and we already have had the well dug up.

　The site is approximately 2300 ㎡. To the south is a mountain stream called Azuma River, and beyond that is a forest. A driveway connecting to the main road of the village runs along the north side of the property. The building of the center is designed to have all its rooms facing south. At the same time, the building will be highly airtight and insulated to keep the inside warm even with heavy snowfall.

　Its Dharma Hall, which is the heart of the center, is about 40.5㎡. It also has a multi-functional room of about 24.3 ㎡ to be used for yoga, meals and meetings. "Make it practical" was our mantra when designing the building. There will be dorm space, multiple washrooms, bathrooms, and a large storage area in order to accommodate a large number of guests.

　We are committed to making sure that the new center, Urabandai Ippoan, will be the place of hope that overcomes any darkness in the world. Looking forward to working with you in making our center into reality.

　Thank you very much for your support.

Ven. Ryodo Yamashita, Sudhammacara Bhikkhu

Abbot, Kamakura Ippoan / One Dharma Forum, Kamakura