Shinnyo-en

Shinnyo-en (真如苑, Borderless Garden of Truth) is a modern global Buddhist School for lay people. Its traditions can be traced back to the Daigoji branch of Shingon Buddhism. It was founded in 1936 by Shinjō Itō (真乗伊藤, 1906–1989), and his wife Tomoji (友司, 1912–1967) in a suburb of metropolitan Tokyo, the city of Tachikawa, where its headquarters is still located.^[1][2]

In 2024, Shinnyo-en was reported to have 3,000,000 members, and temples and training centers in several countries in Asia, Europe and the Americas.^[3] The temples are characterised by the Nirvana image, a statue of the reclining Buddha.

Central to Shinnyo-en is the belief, expressed in the Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra, that all beings possess Buddha-nature, a natural, unfettered purity that can respond creatively and compassionately to any situation in life.

As of 1989 the head of Shinnyo-en was Shinsō Itō (born 1942, also known as 'Keishu'), who holds the rank of Daisōjō, the highest rank in traditional Shingon Buddhism.