is the founder of the reputed Buddhist school Shinnyo-en.

He was born in Yamanashi Prefecture in Japan. After a career as an aeronautic engineer, he dedicated himself to a religious life. He trained at the Daigo-ji

Daigo-ji

is a Shingon Buddhist temple in Fushimi-ku, Kyoto, Japan. Its main devotion is Yakushi. Daigo, literally "ghee," is used figuratively to mean "crème de la crème" and is a metaphor of the most profound part of Buddhist thoughts.- History :...

 monastery and became a Great Master (Great Acharya) of Shingon Buddhism, and founded Shinnyo-en in 1936.

Besides his work as a Great Buddhist Master and teacher, Shinjo Ito is also known as a talented Buddhist sculptor and photographer. His works were featured in a Centennial Exhibition throughout Japan in 2006 and a major exhibit at the Milk Gallery in New York City in 2008. Other exhibitions include a solo exhibit at the Westwood Art Forum in Westwood, Los Angeles, California

Westwood, Los Angeles, California

Westwood is a neighborhood on the Westside of Los Angeles, California, United States. It is the home of the University of California, Los Angeles .-History:...

from May 8, 2008---June 29, 2008.

External links

• Shinjo Ito
• Shinjo Ito Center
• Art Knowledge News
• New York Sun
• Friends of Shinjo Ito
• Shinnyo en Visiting Professorship at Stanford University USA
• UC Berkeley Press Release

Shinjo Ito Quotes

• "The spirit of Buddhism is, more than anything, about valuing harmony and unity, in which others are respected and embraced rather than denounced. This has been the way of Buddhism since the beginning, and this is true Buddhism".

• "The Buddha shared his teachings so that everyone, without exception, could reach the same supreme state of liberation that he had attained through practice and effort".

• "Sometimes when people see a successful person, they either become envious or attribute their success to luck, forgetting the efforts the person has made to get there."

• "Examine the present and learn from the past to see how the future will unfold. Too often we just look at the present and base our actions solely on that".

• "What is most important is to go deep into ourselves and discover the loving kindness and compassion of the buddha within - the awakened nature we all possess".

• "You may have seen people praying to an image as if it had special power. Perhaps they're wishing for the well-being of their family, for material prosperity, or to recover from illness. But this way of practicing faith only leads to a dead end. Buddha images should serve as inspirations to cultivate the infinite loving kindness latent in the buddha within us".