Speaker: Reverend Jikai (Online, Joining from the Hawkesbury Region, NSW)

Mon 23 March | 7.00-8.30pm AEDTLocation: Online (Zoom link below)

Cost: Free

The practice of Copying Sūtras (寫經) has been a common form of cultivation among Buddhist practitioners for millennia. And while the very act of duplicating a sūtra benefits others by disseminating the Buddha-Dharma, the practical and meditative boons this practice offers to the copyist, are hard to overestimate.

The process engages the Three Karmic Acts of body, speech, and thought (身口意業), entails the Three Trainings of śīla (discipline戒), samādhi (meditative concentration 定) and prajñā (wisdom 慧), and brings one before the Buddhas, whenever it is undertaken in earnest, and with sincerity. It is both cultivative and devotional at the same time; and it is simultaneously beneficial for oneself and others. Our world is becoming increasingly digitised, and even our thinking has been out-sourced to tools like AI. But when we copy sūtras, our whole being cannot but engage with the Dharma directly: the hand writes, the mouth whispers, and the mind ‘chews’, on each and every word.

In this talk we will discuss the place this practice holds in the story of Buddha-Dharma, its deeper significance and relevance, the benefits, and how it can be enacted in simple, and more complex ways.

About the Speaker: Reverend Jikai 慈海 Tyler Dehn grew up Catholic, but became a Buddhist at the age of 15 during a year-long exchange in Toyama (富山県), Japan. During the week he would read whichever Buddhist sūtras he could get his hands on, and then on weekends he would ride his bicycle to various temples, attending services and asking many questions. After returning to Australia he contacted Reverend Jiryo 慈了Moxon who was running a small Tendai community in Brisbane, Australia. Though Jiryo Sensei and Jikai lived in very different parts of Australia, they managed to meet a few times a year and regularly made contact. Via Jiryo Sensei, Jikai was introduced to the late Archbishop Ara Ryokan 荒了寛大僧正 of the Hawaii Tendai Mission ハワイ天台別院 in Honolulu.

Shortly thereafter Jikai became a disciple of Ara Ryokan, who impressed upon him the importance of one’s“karmic connections”to the Buddha-Dharma. He took Ordination or Tokudo 得度 at the Tendai Hawaii Mission in Honolulu, and trained there under Venerable Ara’s direction. Finally, in 2015 Jikai was accepted to, and attended the Seminary Programme (known as ‘Gyoin’ 行院) on Mt Hiei 比叡山延暦寺, Japan.

After the completion of his training, Jikai moved to Tokyo, and worked at the Tendai Buddhist High School of Komagome Gakuen 駒込学園 for five years. During this time, he assisted at a number of temples, participated in seminars on behalf of the Tendai School, and translated various materials into English.

At the end of 2020 he returned to Australia, and now operates the Tendai Buddhist Sangha of Australia at Enmitsuji Temple (圓密寺) in the Hawkesbury Region, NSW. They offer weekly lessons on Tiantai/Tendai Teachings and instruction in meditation, chanting and making offerings. Reverend Jikai Dehn also holds a Master of Research Degree from Macquarie University, and has made it his life-long labour of love, to translate Buddhist sūtras and Tendai texts, in hopes that the seeds of the Buddha-Dharma may be firmly planted in the soils of the West.

Online event: Attendees will have the opportunity to participate in an interactive session online by clicking on this link to access the session: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83506489824?pwd=cmpNQ1ljSmFVYURLWVN1dWllYUN1dz09 Alternatively, you can dial in from your telephone (call charges apply): +61 2 8015 6011 | Meeting ID: 835 0648 9824| Passcode: 718905